And My Fate Had Begun to Change
by DaConMan
Summary: Kousei, wracked with grief, heads off stage and sobs. But he hears a voice, one so painfully familiar. What might happen if Kousei had a second chance to do right? How would he use this time he had, and how would it affect his friends and family? He's determined to write his own destiny, determine his own fate, and finally give himself the happy ending he deserves.
1. A Dream Come True

Chapter 1 – Dream Come True

* * *

 _"Hold on... Don't go! Let's argue again. I'll bribe you with a Canel_ _é_ _. I'll call you to kill time. I don't mind being Friend A... just please don't go! Please don't go. Please don't go... please don't leave me behind..."_

Kousei Arima watched from his seat at the piano, as the teary eyed mirage of his true love, Miyazono Kaori, faded from existence in a spectacle of flying cherry blossom petals, after she had finally had that last duet he promised her. He knew this must her hardheadedness showing one last time, her spirit not able to rest until she got what she wanted, and now she did. Kousei was certain, that she had moved on from this world. He played the final, heart wrenching notes of the piece, and looked up, tears endlessly streaming down his face -

"Goodbye..."

* * *

Kousei walked backstage after he bowed to the audience, before he lost what composure he had left. There, slumped against a wall, he fell into a ball, his head resting on his knees, tears bypassing his black-framed glasses and staining his deep blue suit. Soon, he was found by his once rivals, now friends, Takeshi Aiza and Emi Igawa. They approached with the intent of congratulating him on such a spectacular performance, their opinions evident due to their tear-stained faces, Emi's more so than Takeshi's. They stopped, awestruck, when they found him crying, as if he had lost a vital part of himself, as if he had surrendered something inconceivably important to him in his playing.

"Arima-san... are you okay?" Said Takeshi

There was no reply.

"You did so well, Arima-san." Chimed in Emi, in an attempt to lift the silence

Still, the only sound emanating from the young man was the sound of suppressed sobs. This left the two confused as to how to tackle the situation, as it seemed rude to directly ask him what his problem was, but it also seemed wrong to leave him alone. With a single glance, they came to the mutual conclusion that it would be best to ask if he wanted to get something off his chest. They sat down next to him, but before either could utter a single word, the quiet sobs ceased, and the black haired boy rose and ran, as fast as he could.

* * *

Kousei cried to himself against the wall, remembering all the times he had spent with Kaori, and all the times he would no longer get to spend with her. His two fiercest competitors approached him, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to them right now. After a slight subconscious acknowledgment, he pretty much tuned them out completely.

In the midst of his mourning, he couldn't help but hear a soft voice, one which sounded so familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on it's origin, because he wasn't listening to the world around him. The only explanation would be, that this voice was inside his head.

" _Great..."_ He thought

" _I'm already losing it... haven't I lost enough today?"_

The volume of the voice grew and grew, until eventually he was fairly certainly he could make out a message... or at least parts of it. 'Come... hospital... alive...'. Those were the only words he could make out, or needed to make out, as once he recognized the oh so familiar voice and all its sweetness, he needed no more convincing. She had come to him once, why couldn't she again?

" _Kaori...? Kaori!"_

This was all he could think, in his mad dash to the hospital.

* * *

"Kouseiiiiii!?" Tsubaki called out, a childhood friend of Kousei, who had come backstage to find him and make sure he was okay. She also had a message to give him, which she had received from Watari, another friend of Kousei's who had been in attendance. She ran into Emi and Takeshi, and decided to ask where Kousei was.

"Excuse me," She said. "Have you seen where Kousei Arima has gone?"

Takeshi quickly replied, "Yeah, we saw him, saw him running so fast he was practically a blur!"

"We found him in the hall, crying, then he up and left out of nowhere." Continued Emi.

"Why ya' need him?" Asked Takeshi. "He your boyfriend or something?" Takeshi looked quite smug when Tsubaki's face turned several shades of red, which elicited a small chuckle from Emi.

"He is not!" Tsubaki shot back. "I have message for him. Our friend, Kaori, she's alive!"

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – End**

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For anyone reading this the day of it's release, I'll be putting up the second one today as well, seeing as this was just a small introduction into what this story will be based on. I've never written a fan-fic before, but this anime made me feel all kinds of things I didn't think I could :(**

 **Anyway, I'm really not sure where I'm gonna go with this story, because I know there are several other stories with a similar basis as this, and I want to try to keep it as original as possible. Of course, though, there's gonna be some idea conflict and overlay though. I thought this would also help me hone my writing skills, as I'm taking English IV AP and Latin AP this year... Ugh, so much to do. So, for that reason, feel free to leave reviews with constructive criticism, but try not to hate. If something bothers you too much, just leave. If I have anything else to say, I'll leave it in the next A/N. Later ^-^**


	2. The Letter

Chapter 2 – The Letter

* * *

Kousei found himself running faster than he had ever ran before to the hospital. This was crazy, running because of a small voice in his head that could be nothing more than a slip in his sanity. But he was crazy for Kaori anyway, so it didn't matter. If there was even the slightest chance, the most minute possibility that she was alive, he'd have to hold on to that hope.

As he blitzed past the gate to the hospital, he had to stop at the automatic doors, because they weren't opening as fast as he was moving. As he hurried in, he needed only give a glance to the receptionist, as she was so familiar with him. He saw her face light up when she saw him, and that filled Kousei with hope. Not only did she not stop him, but she seemed excited for him. He hurried his way into the elevator, far too tired to take the stairs.

* * *

Tsubaki and Watari followed in hot pursuit, though given the time gap in when they left, they were still well behind Kousei. Being athletes, they were typically faster than him, but they both knew that he wouldn't slow down for anything, so the likelihood of them catching up, or even gaining ground on him was slim to none. Still, eventually, they made it to the hospital and walked in at a much less brisk pace than Kousei.

"Well you seem rather calm, Watari-kun." The receptionist chimed as they approached the desk.

"You think so? You should've seen us run here, hehe." He gestured at Tsubaki, who was still out of breath.

Tsubaki then calmed herself and asked; "Excuse, has Arima-san come through here recently?"

"Kousei? Why yes, he passed through here several minutes ago, actually. I assume for the same reason you're here." She said with a smile.

" _Using his first name...?"_ Thought Tsubaki. _"Not even any honorifics? He must be through here pretty often, then..."_

With that, the duo thanked the receptionist and went on their way to Kaori's room.

* * *

Kousei hurried down the hall to see the room to Kaori's room open.

" _That means... she must be..."_

He straightened himself out, to make sure he didn't look sloppy, and peeked his head in. There, sitting on the bed, looking out the window like she so often did, was the blue-eyed blonde in question, looking healthier, and more beautiful than he had seen her in some time. He walked in and stood there awestruck for a minute, and decided to make sure he was composed, so he didn't bust out crying right then. When he was sure of himself, he spoke.

"K... Kaori?"

She jumped just a little at his uncharacteristically deep voice, then turned around and smiled a great smile, already knowing who it was.

"Took you long enough, dummy"

"WHA... b..bbb..but I was, and-"

His reaction elicited a fit of laughter from Kaori, which silenced Kousei as he realized she was playing with him

"You can be so cruel." He said, with a smile.

"I know!" She replied, still chuckling, and giving an even greater smile.

"How are you feeling?" Kousei said as he approached her bed.

"I'm feeling great actually"

"Really? You had me worried sick for this whole day, and now you're just... fine."

This procured a confused stare from her

"N..Not that I'm complaining of course!" He quickly corrected himself.

"What, did you expect me to just give up or something?" She retorted cynically

"Well, no, I...-"

"How could I give up, with someone like you here waiting for me?"

This took Kousei by surprise and he lost his breath. He looked up quickly and saw her giving him a faint smile, but here eyes were so full of life, full of... color.

"Wha... What do you..." He stammered.

"Come'ere, sit."

He walked over and pulled a up chair, to which she nodded her head, scooted over in her bed, and gestured for him to sit there. Reluctantly, he did so.

"You don't have to sit on the edge! I want you to face me, dummy. Take your shoes off and sit right!"

He didn't hesitate to obey her barking orders, so he quickly slipped his shoes off his feet, and sat criss-cross on the bed, facing her.

"Okay, good." She giggled. "Now, read this."

She handed him an envelope, sealed with a black cat sticker, and addressed to Kousei Arima. He looked dumbfounded.

"You wrote a letter?"

She broke eye contact and twirled her hair.

"Just in case... you know? It wasn't a guarantee that we'd speak again."

Just the thought of such a reality made Kousei sick, but she had a point. He took a breath, then opened the letter, and read its contents. He noticed it used a stationary he purchased for her that one day. It read:

 _'Dear Arima Kousei,_

 _It feels weird writing a letter to someone you were just with…_

 _You're the worst._

 _Indecisive. Gullible. Twit._

 _The first time I ever saw you perform, I was 5 years old. It was at a recital for the piano school I was going to. This awkward, clumsy kid came onto the stage and accidentally hit the piano stool with his butt. It was too funny. He turned to the piano that was way too big for him and the moment he played that first note, I was drawn in._

 _The sound was beautiful, like a 24-color palette. The melodies danced._

 _The girl next to me started crying. I wasn't expecting that at all._

 _And even so, you gave up the piano. Even though it totally changed other people's lives. You're the worst. Indecisive. Gullible. Twit._

 _When I found out we were in the same middle school, I was ecstatic. But how would I ever come to talk to you? Maybe I'd hang out at the lunch concession. Instead, I just watched you from afar._  
 _I mean. After all. You all seemed to get along so well. There wasn't really any space in there for someone like me._  
 _When I was a kid, I had to have an operation and I started having to be at the hospital for regular check-ups. In the first year of middle school, I collapsed and I was admitted over and over. With every visit, I was there for longer and longer. Really, I didn't get to class much in middle school, I spent more time at the hospital. And I knew something was wrong with my body._

 _One night, I saw my parents crying in the waiting room and I knew that my time was running out._

 _That's when I made a choice._

 _I ran.  
I didn't want to bring my regrets with me to heaven, so I stopped holding back from what the things I always wanted to do.  
I wasn't scared anymore to get contact lenses.  
I ate what I wanted instead of always worrying about my weight.  
And I took the music with all its high and mighty directives and played it the way I wanted._

 _And then I told a lie. Just one._  
 _I lied and said that I, Miyazono Kaori, was in love with Watari Ryouta._

 _And that lie brought you to me._

 _Please apologize to Watari for me… though I'm sure he's forgotten me by now_  
 _I think I need someone more wholehearted and earnest than him._  
 _I think we'd be fine as friends though._

 _And please apologize to Tsubaki for me too._  
 _I want for there to be no hard feelings. And there was one thing I could never ask of her, to ask her directly to introduce the two of us._  
 _I don't think she would've had an answer for me._  
 _After all, she was in love with you._  
 _We all knew that._  
 _I think the only people who didn't know were you and her._  
 _The you that the lie brought to me, wasn't as I had imagined._

 _It was darker._  
 _And meaner._  
 _And denser._  
 _And more stubborn._  
 _And more perverted._

 _And softer._  
 _And more masculine._  
 _And sweet._  
 _Remember that bridge we jumped off? The water was so cool and refreshing._  
 _Racing each other alongside the train. I really thought I could win._  
 _The moon we saw from the music room that night, it looked like a delicious-looking bun._  
 _Singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with you as we rode on that bike together. Then falling out of tune. We're awful singers._  
 _At the school at night. I'm still sure there was something there._  
 _The falling snow, just like cherry blossoms._

 _It's strange to be a musician, but then to have your heart so filled by something that comes from off-stage_  
 _They're unforgettable scenes to me. But they're such little things. It's weird, isn't it?_

 _What do you think?_  
 _Do you think I made it into anyone's heart like that?_  
 _I wonder if I made it into yours._  
 _I wonder if you'll still remember me._

 _If you forget me, I'll just come back and haunt you._  
 _No, I don't want to start over._  
 _Please don't forget me._  
 _Promise me you won't forget me._

 _I'm glad it was you._

 _I hope this reaches you._

 _I love you._  
 _I love you._  
 _I love you._  
 _I'm sorry we couldn't eat all those canelés._  
 _I'm sorry I hit you so much._  
 _I'm sorry I was so selfish._

 _I'm so, so, so, so sorry._

 _Thank you for everything._

 _Miyazono Kaori'_

Kousei had laid down sometime in the middle of reading the letter, and was reduced to tears before the end. He had been mouthing the words to himself, so Kaori knew exactly where he was, and blushed and looked away once he approached the end of the letter. He took a moment to collect himself, then sat up and asked her:

"Why didn't you ever tell me...?"

"I wasn't gonna be around... why make it hurt worse once I left?" She stated matter-of-factly.

He realized she had a point, but... he couldn't imagine reading this, if she hadn't made it out okay. He wouldn't know what to do.

He thought long and hard about what to say next. Eventually, he found the courage to reach over and gently turn her head around from the chin, look her in the eye and say;

"I love you too"

He expected her to get mad and call him a pervert or something of similar caliber, but instead, she turned several shades of red, and looked incredibly surprised. She broke eye contact for a moment, then looked back.

"You really do?"

"Of course I do" He gingerly replied.

She bashfully said "Then prove it."

With very little hesitation, they both leaned forward, him placing a hand around her waist, her, a hand cupping his cheek.

And there lips met.

* * *

Watari and Tsubaki climbed the stairs to reach Kaori's room.

"So, you think the big cry baby's started sobbing yet?" Said Watari to his brunette friend.

"I don't know, probably. Hey Watari, what do you think they're up to in there?"

"Dunno. He's probably telling her about the recital, but knowing those two, they could be talking about anything."

" _Truly, anything..."_ Thought Tsubaki.

She tried to push away her thoughts of jealousy, and simply focus on the fact that her sick friend was better now. Not only was that good news on its own, it also meant Kousei would stay happy and cheery like he has been recently. At least... until the incident with Kaori and the ICU happened.

" _Man, does she have to mess EVERYTHING up?"_

She once again mentally scolded herself for being so rude, and realized that she had been tuning out Watari.

"Helloooooo? Earth to Muscle-Brain!" He barked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what'd you say?"

"I said, you look upset about something, you okay?"

They exited the stairwell and approached Kaori's room now.

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay. Just a little anxious, I guess." She replied

"Yeah, I understand. Honestly I don't even know what I'm gonna say. I'm just glad she's alright."

Tsubaki gave a weak smile, and looked to the door of Kaori's room that they were closing in on. Watari was typically more animated when coming to see her, but he wanted to surprise her. They approached, and peeked into the room. What they saw, mortified them both, Tsubaki more than her companion.

What they saw was Kaori atop Kousei, them sharing a very passionate kiss. At first both were silent in their shock. Then, as tears welled up in Tsubaki's eyes, she did the opposite of what her legs told her to do, which was to run. Instead, she barged in.

"What in the hell is going on in here!?"

* * *

Chapter 2- End

* * *

 **A/N: So, yeah. I said I was gonna try and keep this original, but this is a part where there isn't much room for navigation, so there will definitely be some overlay with other stories. Sorry about that :(. It's probably gonna be that way for the next chapter or two, but then I should have some room to breathe. But hey, once again, I'm creating this story chapter by chapter, so who knows?**

 **Once again, criticism is welcome as long as you aren't an ass about it. Later ^_^**


	3. The Worst Betrayal

Chapter 3- The Worst Betrayal

* * *

Kaori and Kousei immediately tore away from one another in a very abrupt end to their passionate moment. Both turned to the doorway to see who had interrupted them, and it took them both a moment to process that they probably needed to separate from each other, because they had been busted by their friends.

"Well!?" Shouted Tsubaki. Luckily, the floor Kaori was on wasn't very populated, so she was unlikely to draw much attention to their situation, but that wouldn't have stopped her anyway.

"T...Tsubaki!" Stumbled Kousei. "It's not what it looks like!" He instantly regretted saying such a cliché thing, because it was indeed, exactly what it looked like.

"Really?" She responded. "'Cause it LOOKS like you two were in here completely backstabbing both of your friends! But oh, okay, as long as that isn't exactly what you were doing, I guess it's perfectly fine!" She barked cynically.

"Tsubaki... please calm down." Mumbled Kaori.

"Really? You cheat on Watari." she said gesturing to the young stud, who was still in slight shock. "You take away the person who's been by my side for all my life from me. Then you have the audacity to tell ME to calm down!?" Tsubaki turned around and began to walk out. "Why couldn't you both just DIE!?" With that, she stormed away.

"Tsubaki! Hey, Tsubaki!" Called Watari. There was no reply. She was already long gone.

Both Kousei and Kaori were stunned by the incredible crudeness of what the brunette had said to them.

" _Maybe I should've just died..."_ Thought Kaori. _"At least then, everyone could move on in their lives. All I ever do is stir up trouble."_ Tears began to well up in her eyes. Kousei wanted more than anything to reach over and comfort her, but it seemed inappropriate, given their ever-present soccer playing friend. Or... at least they hoped, he was still their friend.

Watari didn't look particularly upset. This somewhat surprised Kousei, but, he did remember Watari getting pretty excited, finding out that he was gonna give him a run for his money with the blonde violinist.

"Kousei," said Watari "can I talk to you in private?"

"Uh... sure."

They made their way outside of the room, where Kousei was sure to pat Kaori on the back, and mouthing her the words 'I'll be right back.' They then departed, and Watari led him to the roof access.

* * *

They reached the roof, and Watari took a deep breath and turned around. It wasn't snowing at the time, but the concrete roof was still covered in a somewhat thick layer of fluffy white.

Watari suddenly looked incredibly irate. "You bastard!" He yelled, right in Kousei's face. "How could you do something like this, you backstabbing fucker!?"

Kousei wasn't sure why, but something about how he acted, after Tsubaki had been so cruel, really pushed his buttons the wrong way. Typically he was good at controlling his temper, especially with Watari, who was like a big brother to him, almost. But now, he seemed almost... condescending, even though Kousei finally had the upper hand on him. Kousei got pissed, fast, and became a bona-fide smartass.

"Hey, relax buddy." Retorted Kousei, smugly. "I haven't fucked anything... yet." He gave his own, devious version of Watari's heartbreaker smile. He knew his actual intentions were nothing of the sort, but right now, he didn't care.

Watari instantly went from an expression of resentment, to that of shock. "You... Who are you, man? You aren't the Kousei who I helped get a game. You aren't the one who I helped bring back from the dead." He said, monotone.

"You didn't do shit!" Kousei exclaimed back. "You haven't shit for me except look down on me, acting like you had all the answers when I needed some advice. All I wanted was a little wisdom, not a fucking lecture, like you were my dad or something!" Kousei recalled several times that Watari kept ranting about his experiences in life, like he had struggled, and gained great wisdom from it or something.

Watari grabbed Kousei by the collar. "Who do you think you are talking to me like that!?" He shouted. "This is the worst kind of betrayal I can imagine, and from my best friend, no less!"

Kousei had had enough once Watari put his hands on him. "You want to see betrayal!? Lemme show you!" Kousei hauled off and struck Watari in the face with a powerful right hook. He wasn't sure where the strength had come from, but he was glad it did, because it knocked Watari onto the snow covered ground, giving Kousei time to recover. He knew Watari wouldn't take kindly to being laid out onto the ground, so a fight was surely coming.

Watari stood up, and rubbed the side of his face. "Ow... damn dude. I don't know where you learned to hit like that. Regardless, let me make sure you don't do it again." With that, he charged at Kousei.

* * *

It had been quite a few minutes since Watari and Kousei had left, and Kaori was calming down. "Yeah... right back, alright." She mumbled.

She figured she knew where they'd gone, so she climbed into her wheel chair, and headed for the roof access, where Kousei carried her into the snow the last time he saw her before her surgery. When she reached the stairs, she knew her wheelchair couldn't make it up. So, she braced herself, grabbed onto the railing, and slowly rose from her seat. It was difficult, but she managed to scale the stairwell, and made it to the roof in a relatively timely manner. She opened the door, and was shocked by what she saw.

* * *

Kousei saw Watari coming at him fast, probably to tackle him. He knew that on the ground, Watari couldn't attack him with his powerful legs, but if he managed to get on top of him, he wouldn't be able to throw him off, and would be at his mercy. So in a split second he decided to roll out of the way, so both he and the brunette aggressor would wind up in the snow.

Just a small exertion it was, Kousei still found himself lacking breath. _"This isn't good.."_ He thought. _"I'm getting tired already. I need to wrap this up quick_."He knew his best bet was to get into an up close brawl so he didn't have to worry about being kicked, and to stay off the ground so he couldn't be pinned. So that's exactly what he did. The the fight quickly turned into more of a standing up grappling contest than a fight. It was obvious Watari wasn't focusing, because Kousei was gaining the upper hand.

He saw his opportunity when Watari stumbled, and laid another devastating right hook on him, then a left hook. He barraged Watari with strike after strike. Eventually, he had pushed Watari all the way to the edge of the roof, before grabbing his collar and slamming him onto the short concrete wall, a fist hanging dangerously overhead.

They were both out of breath. Watari found the strength to say "If you're gonna break my nose or something, we're in the right spot.", alluding to the fact that they fought atop the hospital. They're violent encounter was cut short by a sweet voice behind them, filled with concern for both parties.

"Stop!" Commanded Kaori. She had watched the majority of the spectacle before her, but was to afraid to throw her frail body into the mix.

Kousei turned around, and looked mortified, her seeing them like this. "H-How long have you been there!?" He stuttered.

"Long enough." She replied, slowly walking her way toward them.

"You shouldn't be walking, Kaori!" Kousei stated, letting go of his combatant and hurrying towards her.

"I'm fine, Kousei. What was all this about?"

"That's not important, what's important is that you- Woah!"

Kousei exclaimed his surprise as he had to practically dive to catch Kaori, as her legs gave out from beneath her.

"Th...thanks, Friend A..."

It had been a while since she had called him that, but he didn't care at the moment. He picked her up and carried her to the bench, setting his blazer that he had taken off and slung over his shoulder some time ago down, to prevent her from sitting on the cold snow.

He took a seat next to her. "What were you thinking, coming out here? You need to rest. You may have made it through surgery, but that doesn't mean you're well yet."

She pouted at him. "Well it looks like its a good thing I did. For Watari-san, anyway." At this, they both noticed that Watari had escaped without them noticing.

"So, tell me how exactly you two ended up like this, will you?" She asked kindly.

Kousei began to elaborate on the whole situation, and the conflict that had just gone down.

* * *

"Wow... That... escalated really quickly." Said Kaori.

The snow had begun to lightly come down again, covering their clothes in a very thin layer of white.

"Yeah, but not as quickly as us in your room." Said Kousei, smugly.

Kaori thought of how quickly their kiss had evolved from something so innocent, to something so full of a hunger, that needed to be sated."Ugh, you pervert!" She said hitting his arm, and blushing like mad.

"Hey, it takes two to tango. It wasn't just me, you know."

"When did you get so brave, Friend A?" She inquired

He chuckled. "I'm just... I'm so glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd do without you." He reached over and hugged her, tears slightly welling in his eyes. After a slight hesitation, she returned his hug.

"It's okay, Kousei... I'm not going anywhere. I'm with you." She pulled his face from her shoulder and looked him in the eyes, giving a genuine smile of reassurance. Kousei grabbed her hand, hesitantly, and let their foreheads touch.

"You're really warm..." Kaori said, getting closer to him.

The pianists lips curled into a faint smile. "Maybe because my heart's beating so fast?"

She placed a hand to his chest to confirm that his heart really was beating rapidly. From there, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. "Well then let me help you relax..."

With slightly more hesitation than before, their lips once again met. They pulled each other ever closer in the falling white.

Kaori thought to herself about her departed friends that had walked in on her and Kousei not so long ago. She thought of Watari, and for some reason, didn't feel to guilty. But then she thought of Tsubaki, and almost broke away from her black haired lover. But instead, she increased the intensity of their kiss, soft lips exchanged for passionate tongues, and thought to herself, _"Sorry, Tsubaki, but... he's mine."_

* * *

Chapter 3- End

* * *

 **A/N: So, how was it? I could've gone several different ways with this particular chapter, but I decided this would give me the most room to maneuver later on in the story, and also leave room for some reoccurring problems later on. They might have seemed just a little OOC, but do remember that vile emotions lead to vile thoughts, which lead to vile actions. I'm really not sure how consistent I'll be with uploading new chapters, but I'm enjoying writing this, so it'll most likely be at least daily. Of course, there will be some flubs here and there, but I can pretty much guarantee that this won't become a weekly/monthly thing. That is, assuming I wrap it up before school starts. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Later ^_^**


	4. The Growing Divide

Chapter 4- The Growing Divide

* * *

After a sorrowful commute, Tsubaki found herself at her front door. She tried to open it in a hurry, but it was locked. Her mother wasn't home. Through blurry eyes, she fumbled with her key until it fit the lock, then open the door, slammed it behind her and hurried to her room.

She crashed down onto her bed, too forlorn to do anything else. She shoved her face in her pillow and sobbed. The heart-broken brunette didn't understand why she was so upset, she had thought all of these thoughts before, seen things similar to it.

" _I guess this time... there's just no denying the evidence..."_ She thought to herself. She peeked up and looked out her window. She could see into Kousei's room, as he had left the curtains open.

" _How weird.."_ She thought. _"He always opens his window when he gets home, so I can just call his name if I wanna talk... but he never leaves his curtains open. Sometimes he won't even rip them open if I'm talking to him."_

The way she worded her thoughts to herself, on top of her mournful state of mind, made her flash back to the time Kaori was in his room, ripping the curtain open. Them both wet, her in his clothes...

She gasped. _"Oh my god! Could they really have... really..."_ She found herself not able to concentrate enough to put her thoughts into words, as she slammed her head back down onto the pillow. At this point she was absolutely disconsolate. To think they shared such intimacy with each other... it made Tsubaki feel sicker than she ever had.

"Fine!" She hissed to Kousei's window, knowing good and well no one would hear her. "You just go around fucking whoever you want, however you want! Was it in the shower!? Is that why you were wet? Or was it just sweat from the exertion!? You idiot!" At this point her hateful inquiry was cut down to almost a whisper, having to fight through endless bawling. "Don't you know I..."

She wavered in what she was about to say... not because he might here her, but because she was afraid to admit it to herself. Finally, she broke down. "Damn it, you idiot! Don't you know I love you!?" She had known it all along, but denied it to no end. Now, she finally accepted her emotional reality, in the time she would most wish it to vanish.

* * *

Twilight was setting in by the time Tsubaki had calmed herself. The winter chill ever bearing down on the outside world, scarce of vegetation. She remembered that she had stormed away before she discovered what had transpired between the backstabbers and Watari. She decided to call him, imagining that, since he had been cheated on, he could be just as bad off as she was.

She quickly realized that was unlikely, considering what a player he was. He had cheated on many a girl, that meant nothing to him. Still, she just wanted to be sure.

* * *

Watari had made his way to the park after escaping from the scene of his brawl with his... frienemy? He wasn't truly sure what would become of him and his black haired friend, and their relationship. All he knew was that his head was pounding, and he needed to rest.

"Damn it." He stated, sitting down on a snow covered bench. "How did he beat me? He's never been the athletic type, but he totally handed me my ass..." Watari raised a hand to his face, and realized he had a cut under his right eye, and the left side of his face was swelling.

He remembered each and every blow he took, and what he was thinking about at the moments they struck. Not once were his thoughts, at least entirely, centered on the battle taking place. It wasn't like him to feel this way, but... Kaori really was special to him. _"That's why I lost._.."He thought. He didn't typically like making excuses, but he genuinely felt that was the only explanation. Under normal circumstances, Kousei just wasn't fit enough to take him head on. He sat in silence for some time after, contemplating the day's events.

Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket, and the words on the surface of the lid read 'Kousei's Wifey', His nickname in his phone for Tsubaki. _"Yeah, well, looks like you're a pretty bad husband, Kousei."_ He flipped his phone open and answered the call."

* * *

"Yo." Tsubaki's weak voice rang in through the phone. Watari replied likewise.

"Yo."

"You didn't make as much of a spectacle as I did, I guess?"

A faint smile came to Watari's face, though it quickly was replaced by a flinch as the left side of his face cried out in pain. Talking was gonna be a pain in the ass if he couldn't even smirk. "Nah, don't worry, I stole the show from you."

"What do you mean?" The somber girl asked, surprised.

"I mean, me and Kousei got into a fight. An actual fight. You know, good ol' fisticuffs"

"Oh god, really? Is Kousei hurt too badly?"

Watari couldn't help but laugh a great laugh at this, even though it hurt. One, he was surprised at her ever present concern for the boy, and two, it amused him that she instantly assumed he had beat down Kousei. "Nah, he's doing just fine. Me on the other hand..."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now really, how is he."

Her cynical tone actually irritated him slightly, as if it was the most atrocious thing imaginable to lose a fight to Kousei Arima. "I'm serious, Muscle-Brain, he beat me."

He could practically feel her eyes widen, just through a phone, at the words he dared utter.

"He... beat you? In a fight?"

Watari began to elaborate on what occurred on the roof top earlier that day.

* * *

"Wow." Chuckled an amused Tsubaki. "You really got your ass handed to you by a little sissy like him, huh?"

Watari didn't know why, but he still felt like sticking up for Kousei. Even so, he replied unlike he felt. "If he's a sissy, then what does that make me?"

"Hm, good question."

"Whatever, Tsu- _baka_." Watari was particularly proud of that play on words. "Anyway, how are you holding up?"

Ignoring his... not so clever insult, Tsubaki addressed his inquiry. "I'm okay, I guess." She knew she was lying. She still felt miserable, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of something Watari wouldn't understand.

Suddenly, she heard whistling outside her window. She quickly peered outside to see Kousei approaching, particularly cheery. Her first instinct was to hang up instantly, but on second thought, she decided to mess with him.

She raised her voice. "Well, I guess it's just you and I against the world now isn't it, Watari-Chan? We don't need to deal with those two timing assholes anyway."

Watari was rightfully confused, and presented himself so. "What are you going on about, Tsubaki? And... did you call me 'Chan'?"

The vengeful girl ignored Watari entirely. "Well, I should probably be getting to bed. Be seeing you cutie. Goodnight!" As Tsubaki took the phone away from her face to hang up, she could still make out a very audible "WHAT!?" From the other end. After she hung up, she heard the door to Kousei's residence open and close, signaling he had entered. She knew he'd go and take a shower, so she had time to think about what she wanted to say, if anything. First though, she texted Watari about what had just happened, to make sure he didn't get any funny ideas.

* * *

Kousei approached his door, and could hear Tsubaki on the phone with Watari. As he unlocked the door, he heard her say her farewells to Watari, calling him cute before she hung up. Now, he may be oblivious to many things, but he was no idiot. He knew exactly what she was trying to accomplish, and he wasn't going to be bothered by it one bit.

Thinking about calling 'cuties', he decided to call Kaori before he took his shower, as she had given him her number before he left the hospital.

* * *

After a nice, surprisingly platonic conversation with Kaori, and a warm shower, Kousei made his way into his room. He noticed that he had accidentally left his curtains open. Luckily, his window was still shut, so his room wasn't an ice cube. He climbed into his bed and opened said window.

"Tsubakiiii." No reply. "Tsubakiiii, I know you're there. We need to talk."

"Maybe I don't want to talk to you, dummy." Kousei heard his friends voice, without seeing her face.

"Well we need to. I'm sorry you happened to walk in when you did, but you went way out of line. You really hurt Kaori's feelings." He said firmly.

Tsubaki was amazed at Kousei's disposition. "I can't believe you. Somehow, you still make this about her. I bet you enjoyed cheering her up didn't you?"

"I shouldn't have had to." Kousei returned. He instantly realized his folly when Tsubaki's face appeared.

"Man, when did you grow a pair? Talking to me like this, making out with someone's girlfriend in her hospital bed, taking said girlfriend into your house and fucking her! You're like the new Watari, except a whole lot crueler!" She lashed out.

Kousei was shocked at her verbal attack. "I don't know exactly what you're going on about, but you need to relax."

"No, YOU need to relax, playboy!" She barked back. "I swear, ever since she's showed up you've cared about nothing but her, even when she liked Watari!"

Kousei irately slung the envelope given to him by Kaori through his window, and through Tsubaki's. He was actually somewhat surprised it made it the whole way, given that it was just paper.

"Read that, then tell me I'm some playboy! Read that, then tell me I'm cruel! Read that, then tell me I'm a backstabber! I thought I was going to lose one of the most important people in my life, and I was given a second chance to do things the way I should have from the beginning, WITHOUT worrying about you, OR Watari! I have a chance to mold my own fate, and damn it I'm gonna take it!" He ranted. "Now, Goodnight! Don't bother me again!" He slammed his window shut, and ripped the curtains closed.

The incredible fury in Kousei's words were nearly enough to drive Tsubaki to tears. She had never seen him so angry before. She didn't want to open the letter she had been given, but she felt she didn't have much of a choice here. She needed to understand...

She reopened the envelope, and began to digest it's contents.

* * *

After reading it, she felt like a total jerk. She never realized the vast amount of consideration Kaori had truly given to her. But for Kousei, she didn't feel much sympathy. Sure, she wasn't as angry with him as she was before, but he had still been a total dick to her just now, and it changed the way she saw him. He wasn't just like her little brother anymore. As a matter of fact, he had grown up so much, so quickly, that... maybe now, he was more like the big brother. He WAS older than her, anyway.

She tried to make herself believe that Kousei had also considered her throughout the events of the past year. But, even if Kousei had tried to keep her in mind, it obviously didn't last long. And he had apparently known Kaori bore affections for him for some time, given that they had fooled around before, and she had caught them at least once. Maybe they did it more often than that. Maybe before she busted them.

Her mind went back to that night. She had her mind set on the possibility that they had fooled around that night, but... given her clearer state of mind now, the doubts began to return. Was it really just a terrible coincidence? Was there another feasible explanation? Was their relationship completely pure until today?

" _Damn it, Kousei..."_ She thought, leaning against the wall, still sitting on her bed. _"I've known you as long as you've known you! I know you better than anyone..._ _so why... why are you still such a mystery to me...?_

* * *

Chapter 4- End

* * *

 **A/N: To answer the PM I received about why I decided to write this, I have two answers. One, because this was the best anime I've ever watched (Says the person who doesn't watch much anime). Two, because I'm going through something painfully similar in my life right now. Similar to the show anyway. So, I wanted to dream up a happier ending for both me and Kousei. And yeah, I could've just replied back in a PM, but I felt this was worth sharing, as it was a pretty good question. So yeah, that's literally all I had to say. Hope you enjoyed! Later ^_^**


	5. A Day to Remember

Chapter 5- A Day to Remember

* * *

The weeks that followed the groups bout went by rather smoothly. Watari and Tsubaki still occasionally came to visit Kaori, to make sure she was recovering well. Tsubaki even apologized for being so rude, an apology Kaori happily accepted. Her feelings were still slightly hurt, but at the same time, she understood saying something you don't really mean in an outburst of emotion, was sometimes out of your control.

Watari, however, didn't have much to say. The usual greetings 'Hello. How are you?', things of that nature, but besides that, he didn't feel like talking to her that much. They were most definitely not dating anymore, after Tsubaki told him about the letter. The brunette duo seemed to have found it their hearts, one more than the other, to forgive Kaori. Nonetheless, they still avoided Kousei like the plague.

* * *

Kousei had been spending a large amount of his free time visiting Kaori in the hospital. As a matter of fact, on days he didn't have lessons with Nagi, the apprentice given to him by Hiroko, HIS mentor, he would tend to go to the hospital after school, or early in the morning on Saturday's, and stay until visiting hours were over.

Hiroko scolded him often for spending so much time out of the house, when he could use the extra practice, but allowed it because she knew it was important to his mental health, Kaori's mental AND physical health, and, it was only temporary. She still didn't like it though. She may have objected more if his father was ever home, but he was away on business so often, that it never became a problem. Kousei also attempted to avoid Tsubaki and Watari when possible, which wasn't difficult, because he only shared one class with each of them, and he very rarely walked home the same time Tsubaki did.

* * *

March 18th arrived, one month after Kaori's surgery, as well as just a little over a week before Kousei's 15th birthday. It fell on a Sunday, when Kousei and Nagi always had a lesson, but Nagi had agreed, if somewhat reluctantly, to skip practice that day so that Kousei could surprise his blonde lover. Hiroko didn't interfere. Nagi was HIS apprentice after all.

Kousei walked into the Hospital just after lunch time and approached the front desk.

"Ah, Kousei! Good to see you. You aren't normally here on Sundays. What's the occasion?" Asked the receptionist.

"It's been a month since Kao-chan's surgery. Thought I'd surprise her." He said, raising a bag of canelés he had picked up from her parent's bakery, just as she liked.

"Well aren't you just a sweetheart!" The receptionist replied. "I suppose you don't want me telling her she has a visitor?"

"Please?"

"Hehe." The receptionist giggled. "I'll get you signed in, go on up."

Kousei thanked her then made his way up to Kaori's room.

* * *

Kaori heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" She announced in a loud voice, so they could hear on the other side. It was unusual for her to get company on a Sunday, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Still, she knew one person it most certainly wouldn't be, which disheartened her slightly. She immediately ate her words when that one person walked right in, just as unannounced as he had walked into her heart.

"K-Kousei!?" She exclaimed.

Kaori's surprise guest adopted a victorious smirk. "Yeah, well, ya' know. A whole month of life is worth celebration. Did you really think I would forget?"

She didn't bother answering him, as she had already sprung from her bed and into his arms, at an impressive pace.

"Woah!" Uttered a surprised Kousei. "S-since when could you walk!?"

"Since like... two weeks ago? I was just using the wheel chair because I was lazy. Teehee!"

This amused Kousei. "You? Lazy? Since when?"

"Welllll maybe lazy was a bad word to use. More like tired."

"I dunno, you never know what a few months in a hospital bed will do to a person..." Kousei gave a hearty grin when she pouted at him.

"You don't have to be so mean, Friend A."

"Really? Would a mean Friend A bring you these?" He reached into his bag, where he had hidden the canelés, and presented them to her.

"Oh my god yay! I didn't even ask!" She bounced around excitedly.

"Haha. Well, you haven't asked in some time, and I knew your sweet tooth must be killing you."

"Not with you around." She said, quite flirty.

Kousei's entire face responded by turning a light shade of red. He looked away. "Shut up... we haven't even really kissed since that day. Nothing more than a peck on the cheek, if I'm lucky."

Kaori needed no elaborating on the vague term 'that day'. She knew exactly what he meant. The day of her surgery.

"Hm... I guess you're right..." She took the canelés from his extended hand, and ran over to place them on her nightstand. She then casually walked behind Kousei and slid the door shut.

"W...what are you doing?" He stuttered nervously. He began to very slowly back up as she approached him, and he could even feel his blush as the blood ran to his face.

" You're right. It's been a month exactly. I might just start going through withdrawal soon, because something about you is just so..." She had backed him up to the bed at this point, and she brought her face incredibly close to his, her hands on his shoulders. She then whispered in his ear, finishing her statement. "...Addicting."

Kousei had no idea where she had learned to be this alluring, nor did he know when she found the guts to come on so strong, but he quickly found his blush fade as the blood left his face and rushed... somewhere else. Much lower on his body. He suddenly found himself wishing he had worn looser pants. On the bright side though, his... embarrassing affliction, wouldn't be noticeable, and that was probably more important anyway.

She brought her face back to his, and took off his glasses.

"I always thought you looked a little better with these off."

He didn't know whether to feel insulted or complimented, but he didn't have time to contemplate it as she pushed him down onto the bed and brought her lips onto his, wasting no time to do so.

* * *

Their bout of passion lasted around ten minutes, which felt like both an eternity and an instant to both parties. It probably would've lasted longer, if Kousei didn't stop her when they broke to take a breath.

"Kaori..." He said, still huffing and puffing. "What are we doing?"

She looked somewhat confused.

"I mean..." He elaborated. "We're sitting here doing this, but we may as well just be fooling around. You mean so much to me, yet... what we're doing right now means nothing..." He said hesitantly.

She wanted to be slightly hurt by his bluntness, but, at the same time, understood what he meant. "I... I guess... but is there anything wrong with acting on your attractions?"

"No, but... I'm not just attracted to you, I'm..." He debated on if he wanted to say the words, before he found the courage to put himself out there. "I'm not just attracted to you, I'm in love with you. A simple kiss doesn't show that. That could mean anything."

She giggled softly at his odd statement. "Kousei, you know I love you too, but do you think you're just gonna take me out on a date or something right now, while I'm trapped in here?"

"Well, no, but... Well, just no. We aren't really dating."

She was once again amused by his need for officiality. To him, just because they hadn't said the words, it made any show of affection impure. She found herself once again warmed by his ever innocent heart.

"Well would it make you feel better if we made it official, dummy?"

This very much took Kousei by surprise. "K-Kaori! Don't just go saying things like that!"

"I'm being serious." She smiled.

He stopped, and contemplated what she said. "Really?"

"Really."

He found his recently discovered confidence return to him, and he stood from the bed, bringing her with him, and he took her hand. "Well, if you insist."

He looked into her eyes. "Kaori Miyazono, when you get out of here, will you go on a journey with me?"

She smiled, and was taking off guard by his almost impromptu romance. A tear welled up in her eye, from how sweet he was being.

"I'd love to." She replied.

He embraced her in a hug, which lasted for several minutes. Afterwords, she looked at him and regained her devious grin. "Will you feel less guilty about kissing me know?"

He returned her smile, and was just about place his lips on hers, until something dawned on him.

"Wait a minute. Kaori... when DO you get out of here?"

She was a little bit surprised by his dismissive act, but realized the relevance of what he asked, and her smile grew ever larger when she remembered what she intended to tell him when he visited tomorrow.

"Wellllll, it might be, in three days, perhaps?" She laughed excitedly.

"Holy... what!? How long have you known this?"

"They told me after you left yesterday, hehe. I was planning to tell you tomorrow, but, here you are."

"So... you'll get out on Wednesday?"

"Nope, I'll get out yesterday." Her sarcasm lingered for a moment. "What'd you think I meant by three days, dummy?"

"Ugh, fine, be that way."

They both chuckled. They were practically like an old married couple already.

"Now, would you kiss me already?" She asked him eagerly.

He once again began to initiate the kiss, but then decided to tease her, because one last question popped into his head.

"Actually, one more thing." He said.

"Ughhhhhh!" She moaned. "You're the worst."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, since we're, you know, actually a thing now, will you start calling me Boyfriend A when you're ticked at me?" He asked cynically.

This made her laugh a little. "No, silly, I'll call you B Friend."

It took Kousei a second to understand the joke, but when he did, he was slightly amused. "Oh man, did you just make a pun?"

"Sure did!"

The both laughed heartily at her cheesy play on words. Kaori was about to ask the black haired boy to kiss her once more, but then thought better of it.

Instead, she just did it herself without asking.

* * *

Kousei left around 6, after several different conversations, plan-makings, and long kisses shared with his now significant other. He hurried his way home, exhausted from the unexpected amount of physical exertion he put forth today. When he walked in, he was addressed by a familiar voice.

"Well, you sure look happy." She stated

He snapped his head to the side, to see Hiroko and her daughter, Koharu, in his house. "W-Why are you here!?" He asked, surprised to see them in his house on a day they weren't practicing.

"Just to see how you're day went. By the looks of it, pretty good."

"How long have you been here...?"

"Actually, we just got here. We weren't expecting you back so soon, you usually stay later."

"Well I'm kinda tired..." He claimed, reluctantly.

"Hm, wonder why..." She said sarcastically.

"Ugh, Hiroko, really?"

"Whelp, you're fixing to tell me all about it."

"What!?"

He was then forced to tell Hiroko, in the presence of Koharu, the events of his day, in excruciating detail. There was no point in lying, as she could read him like a clock.

* * *

"Well!" She exclaimed once he had finished. "Sounds like you had a good day." Koharu had added in an 'ew' or 'ugh' here and there. It made it all the more embarrassing for him.

"Hiroko..." He mumbled. "Why did you make me do that?"

"Oh, I was just curious. Just remember I'll be even more curious if you two ever decide to you know what." She said, pleased that her plan had fallen right in place.

Kousei instantly understood the point of her doing this. His face turned cherry red. "Oh my god, you're worse than a mom sometimes!" He exclaimed. "I'm going to bed! Goodnight!"

Hiroko laughed as he ascended the stairs. "Haha, sleep good, kido. Don't have any weird dreams!" She heard a faint groan come from upstairs before the door to Kousei's room shut.

"Hehe, mission accomplished." She proclaimed. "Come on Koharu, let's go home."

* * *

Chapter 5- End

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if the scene of Kousei asking Kaori out seemed kinda cut down. I'm tired, and I really didn't know how to draw it out without making it awkward. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless. Later ^_^**


	6. A Last Ditch Effort

Chapter 6- A Last Ditch Effort

* * *

Tsubaki had overheard Kousei and Kaori one night as he was walking home. He was talking on the phone with his new girlfriend, and she had her window open, hoping for this exact thing to happen. Tsubaki was still fuming with Kousei, and Watari was angry with him, as well as with Kaori, for using him.

As Kousei was walking up to his door, she began to be able to make out the lover's conversation.

"...so that's how you feel about it, huh? Well look, you won't be getting out until later in the day, so how about we just go to the mall or something for a bit? I'll have to cut a lesson with Nagi short as it is. Alright, sounds good. We can't do any crazy shopping though, my wallet's running dry. Haha, no thanks to..." The door to his house shut and Tsubaki could no longer hear them. That was okay though, because she had gotten just what she needed. Plus, the sweet voice he talked to Kaori in was making her sick.

"Fantastic." Mumbled Tsubaki, as she pulled out her phone. "I know exactly how we're gonna do this, Watari. Just don't get any funny ideas afterwards." She began to text her friend the details of her master plan to make the couple jealous and break up. She didn't care if it seemed cruel, because Kousei and Kaori didn't have any more kind feelings towards the her and Watari as they did for them.

She thought back to Kaori's letter for Kousei. When she thought of it's contents, she almost hesitated, but soon jealousy prevailed in her pressed the send key on her message, and thought to herself, _"Sorry, Kaori, but... he's mine."_

* * *

March 21st came around. It was the day Kaori's, hopefully permanent, discharge from the hospital. It was also the first full day of Spring. Kousei found that to be rather amusing. It wasn't the first day, but technically the first FULL day, as the equinox fell at around 5 or 6 in the afternoon yesterday... man, he really needed to get his head out of the science books at school.

Kousei waited outside the hospital, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He didn't initially intend to bring such a gift with him, as Kaori's parents still weren't exactly informed on their relationship. Nonetheless, Hiroko had 'helped him out a little'... because a guy who's already been visiting her continuously standing outside with flowers doesn't seem suspicious at all. He didn't have a problem with her parents knowing, but it might be better if she told him. When he was very far away. The last thing he wanted was to have the talk with a surprised Mr. Miyazono.

Eventually, the blonde girl and her parents walked out of the building.

"Hey, Kaori!" Exclaimed Kousei, getting her attention.

Upon seeing him, she quickly ran over and gave him a hug. This took him by surprise.

"Uh... Kaori, your parents are right there, you know..." He said nervously.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." She giggled. "They know we're dating. Teehee."

"What? Why don't you tell me these things!?"

"Maybe because I just told them?"

Kousei became anxious. This is exactly what he didn't want.

Kaori saw his expression shift. "Relax. They're okay with it. Like, completely okay. My dad was actually happy. Upon her saying this, Kousei looked to the violinist's father, who shot him a bold smile.

"Well... okay... if you say so." He said, still unsure of the whole situation. I mean, would they be okay with them going out today?

He remembered the bouquet he had hidden behind his back when she came out, and dropped the thoughts going through his mind for the time being.

"Hey, I got you these. I hope you like them." He said with a smile, pulling the flowers from behind his back.

She was taken aback. "Oh, Kousei, they're beautiful." The bouquet consisted of flowers of varying colors, from yellows, to light blues, deep reds, sunset oranges, and a few violet ones as well.

"Here, come on, let's show them to my mom, she loves flowers." He was about to let her go without him, until she grabbed his hand and forced him along. When they got over to where her parents were standing, Kaori showed her mother the bouquet of flowers, but her father took him to the side. Kousei knew he wouldn't hurt him, but somehow he was still terrified.

Mr. Miyazono placed firm hands on Kousei's shoulders. "Relax, boy. I don't intend to give you a death threat or anything like that." He said with a hearty chuckle, noticing Kousei's tenseness. What he said didn't relax the black-haired boy at all.

"Uh... I'm glad to hear it, Miyazono-san..." Kousei said, nervously.

"Just call me Yoshiyuki, no need for any fancy talk around me any more."

Kousei wasn't sure why, but somehow this relaxed him a little. He still wanted to be respectful, though. So, he stepped back and bowed to the man.

"Thank you, Miya... I mean, Yoshiyuki. Thank you Yoshiyuki!"

Yoshiyuki smiled at Kousei. "I didn't bring you over here to give you the usual father-boyfriend talk, son. I wanted to thank you, actually. You've brought so much vividness into my daughters life. You're the reason she underwent this surgery in the first place. I quite literally owe you my daughters life, and I am forever grateful." At this, the man bowed to Kousei, which took the boy completely off guard.

"Ah... no need to thank me, really. Even if I really was the reason she got the surgery, she saved me first. Maybe from a fate worse than death. So, I was just repaying the favor." He said, feeling much more confident now.

"Well, I'm glad that you both have a debt to each other, because that means, hopefully, that you'll stick around, eh?" Kaori's father nudged Kousei. Kousei was quite surprised when realized the implications of the possibility of marriage.

"Uh... wow. Well, I'd certainly love to, if you'd have me."

Yoshiyuki gave a great big laugh and embraced the boy that was much smaller than he. "That's the spirit, kiddo! I know you'll take good care of her. Now, I won't intrude any longer. You two go have a good evening." With that, sent Kousei off.

Kousei thanked him and walked over to Kaori. Her mother had taken the bouquet to bring back home and put in a vase. Mrs. Miyazono thanked Kousei for the gift, as it would liven up their shop a good deal. He found it funny that his girlfriend's mother was thanking him for flowers before his actual girlfriend had. Nonetheless, Kaori thanked him right after, and all was well.

With that, they headed off to enjoy their first day out, starting with a trip to the mall, because Kaori had wanted to go window shopping. She would've gone actual shopping, but... both parties were running dry on cash, so, they'd have to settle for now.

* * *

Tsubaki and Watari had been waiting outside of the mall for about thirty minutes. Watari, not entirely wanting to be here in the first place, was becoming impatient.

"You sure they're gonna show up, Tsubaki?" He asked irritably.

"Yes I'm sure Watari! It's not like I can tell exactly when they'll get here, I'm not a miracle worker. Besides, we haven't even been here for an hour."

"Yeah but I could be-"

"There they are!" Tsubaki cut him off.

She grabbed him by the arm, and quickly dragged him inside. They walked just a little ways, but wanted to be sure that the couple would pass them. They stopped at the intersection of four corridors in the mall. There, they waited.

* * *

Kousei and Kaori strolled into the mall, holding hands and laughing. Business as usual. After they walked in though, they saw Tsubaki and Watari among the crows in the center area of the mall. They seemed to be having a pretty good time.

"Hey, Kousei, look! It's-"

"Tsubaki and Watari, yes, I see them." She could instantly feel his disposition change. He obviously wasn't happy to see them.

"Come onnnn, cheer up. Maybe it was destiny that they're here! Maybe this is so we can all make up and be friends like always. Wouldn't that be great?" She asked.

"I don't know. They aren't acting like the people I grew up with." Kaori knew this was a touchier topic for Kousei. They had been his friends longer, after all. She didn't want to stand in between them, though.

"Pleaseeee Kousei? I just want everything to be okay again. That would be the best gift you could get me!" She exclaimed.

"Kaori, I-" He began. Then, he noticed the puppy dog eyes she had adopted. It was a cheap tactic. She knew he couldn't say no to that. Regardless, the sight warmed his heart. After a moment, he caved.

"Ugh..." He exhaled. "Alright, you win, Kao. If it'll make you happy, then let's try and set things straight." He smiled at her.

"Yay!" She beamed. "You're the best, Kousei." She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, ya know..." He mumbled slightly, with the stupidest grin on his face, due to her kiss.

She laughed at him. "Alright, bashful, let's get going." Kaori grabbed his hand and pulled him along. He followed, but was in no hurry.

* * *

Out of the corner of her eye, Tsubaki saw Kaori and Kousei laughing and holding hands, and then her give him a small kiss on the cheek.

" _Bleh, don't make me sick. Get a room you two."_ Just the sight of them together threatened to make her nauseous. As the couple approached, she realized the irony of what she was thinking. What she was about to do was just as bad.

Tsubaki and Watari waited for them to get a little closer. Then, they dropped their flirtatious babbling, and came together and kissed. A real, proper kiss.

* * *

Kousei and Kaori stopped in their tracks. Though Kaori was none the wiser, Kousei had silently expected antics from those two. However, neither expected the scene developing before them.

"Um, wow." Stated a shocked Kaori. "Did not expect that."

Kousei didn't say anything on the subject. "Come on." He fired off bluntly. He yanked her with him.

"Kousei, what's gotten into you? Why're you so mad suddenly?"

He didn't reply.

"Oh my god, are you jealous?" A slight grin appeared on her face.

"No, I'm not. Believe me, it's anything but jealousy. Just like that was anything but a real kiss. She wants me to be jealous, but I'm not buying her antics." He stated matter of factly.

She didn't quite know what to make of his statement at first, but then she started to think about it. She never really noticed them getting particularly chummy when they came to visit her. This was pretty sudden. "Have they done anything like this to you before?" She inquired.

"Sorta, but not on such a dramatic level." He said.

"Then I guess this is mostly Tsubaki's doing..." She said, curiously. "Because they never did anything like this in my company. They aren't trying to make me jealous."

"Believe me, Watari is. I know him, he wouldn't agree to such a thing unless he was. Though really, it might be more to get back at me for our scuffle, because Tsubaki seems much more adamant about this than he does. You know, considering they behaved around you and all."

Kaori stopped his walking with a tug of his hand. "Look, I know that's a pretty crummy thing for them to do, but... they're upset, Kousei. You need to talk this out properly with Tsubaki. I'll do the same with Watari. Then, you and him might not even have to talk anything out. You two just might come to a mutual understanding."

Kousei hung his head in his free hand. "I will, eventually. Believe me, Kaori, I want things to go back to normal to. But I'm gonna need some time. I don't want to end up exploding on her like I did the last time we talked."

She smiled at him. "That's fair enough." She then kissed his cheek and patted his head. "Good boy. Now, can we continue our evening normally, please?" She asked of him.

He shrugged off her normal, somewhat demeaning banter, and agreed to try and carry on the day like normal.

* * *

Tsubaki and Watari broke from their fake embrace, and Tsubaki spun around excitedly to to watch the couple rush away. She addressed Watari without looking back at him.

"Did you see Watari!? How he stormed off furious?" She beamed. "I told you this would work!"

"What about Kaori?" He asked.

"Oh, I... didn't see much. She looked really shocked from what I did catch though."

"Yeah, sure. I told you Kaori isn't the jealous type. I'm wasting my time." He fumed.

She didn't much care for his whining right now. She had gotten what she wanted. She'd bet it wouldn't be long at all before their relationship was in shambles.

 _"Damn it though..."_ She thought to herself. _"Why do I feel guilty thinking that way? It's not that I don't want you guys to be happy. I just want Kousei to be happy with me more."_ It could be the crudeness of the act she had just performed to get Kousei's attention, but she suddenly felt incredibly selfish. _"Kaori-san wouldn't do such a thing to you, would she Kousei...? Maybe... you two really are better off together..."_

* * *

Chapter 6- End

* * *

 **A/N: Ooooo, a plot twist. How exciting!**

…

 **Just kidding. That entire chapter was a cliché, but that's okay, because cliché's make people cringe. And I love when people cringe at my work. Hope you enjoyed. And... no spoilers, but look out for next chapter. I've planned a little fan service for the die hard KouseixKaori people. Not sure if I'll make it a big thing outside of next chapter though. Later ^_^**

 **P.S. - I've decided how I want to end this story, I think. But don't worry, I've still got plenty more undecided stuff in between now and then. Yay for randomness!**


	7. The Best Birthday Present

Chapter 7- The Best Birthday Present

* * *

A few days passed, and Kousei and Kaori still spent a lot of time together. Unfortunately, a lot of it was spent helping Kaori get caught up with her schoolwork. Still, Kousei enjoyed the company. Nonetheless, after a while they started getting back into the normal routine, so for a few days, they didn't really see each other outside of school. Most of their conversing happened over texts, and the occasional phone call.

Of course the pair loved being together, but they were both relieved to have a slight sense of normality back in their lives. Well, everything was pretty much normal, except for one thing...

"Hey, Kousei, have you talked to Tsubaki-san yet?" Kaori asked the black haired boy over the phone. He was tired of everyone being so split up, especially with his birthday in only two days. It was almost midnight, so really it was only a day away. He wanted him and all of his friends to be able to come together and just hang out, especially since his dad wouldn't be able to get home until two days after his birthday.

Kousei gave a tired sigh, which Kaori could hear from the other side. "No, I haven't." He said. "Have you talked to Watari?"

"Nah, I haven't either, but I was gonna talk to him tomorrow. Do you know when you'll talk to Tsubaki?"

"Well..." He pondered. "I guess I will now."

"Really? You sure about that? It's kind of late..."

Kousei opened his window just a little bit, and sure enough, he could here the faint sound of Tsubaki's music. Her light wasn't on, but then again, neither was his.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Believe me, I know her, we've been neighbors all my life."

"Well... Okay. Good luck."

"Ha, it'll take more than luck, Kao. This is gonna be pure skill." He said frivolously.

She giggled at him. "Whatever you say, champ. Goodnight, I love you!"

"Night blondie, I love you too."

With that, they hung up their call. Kousei took a deep breath, then reached over to fully open his window.

* * *

"Watari... did we do something bad? Like, of course it wasn't nice, but is what we did terrible, trying to mess with their emotions and their relationship like that?" Tsubaki asked her soccer playing friend over the phone. She had noticed that Kousei and Kaori seemed no more distant, and as the days passed, she felt more and more guilty. Not exactly because of what it was that she did, she certainly hadn't enjoyed it.

Instead, she felt guilty because of her intentions. She wanted to make two of her closest friends who were desperately in love, hate each other, just so she and Watari could have their share. And really, she didn't even think it would work on Kaori, all in all she had just used Watari for her own sake.

"Yeah, it was kinda messed up. That's just one of the many reasons I told you it was a bad idea. Plus, it didn't work, like I told you it wouldn't. So can we just cut this out? I'm tired of people looking at us in the hallways..." Watari alluded to the fact that him and Tsubaki had tried flirting in the halls a few times when Kousei and Kaori were passing by. Neither of them were particularly proud of it, but they couldn't just suddenly drop the act and expect results. Though at this point, it seemed those results were unlikely to come.

Tsubaki sighed. "We probably need to apologize, don't we, Watari...? I think the best we can hope for is that, maybe at some point, they'll decide that they don't work. Hopefully if that happens though, they won't have any hard feelings. I'm tired of us being split up."

"Yeah, same here." Watari added. "We need to apologize to both of them, but I think it's most important that you apologize to Kousei, and that I apologize to Kaori."

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Well, I mean, Kousei's probably still awake, I should probably go ahead and get this over with."

Watari agreed. "Doesn't sound like a bad call. I'll probably end up talking to Kaori tomorrow if I get the chance. Good luck with Mozart." He said jokingly.

"Yeah, thanks. Talk to you tomorrow."

With that, they hung up their call. Tsubaki noticed that Kousei's window was ajar, so it shouldn't be hard to get his attention. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and then reached over to open her window.

* * *

They couldn't really see each other moving, because of the lingering darkness in each of their rooms, so when they opened their windows at the same time, it was a shock for both of them.

"Oh, hey." They said in unison.

"Um..." Kousei began. "Why're you out here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"Um..." He didn't really know what to say. He decided to go with the original plan, as if he had just gotten her attention. "I wanted to get things set straight, so we can push this bullshit aside."

"Well, that's one way to put it..."

"And what about you?" He asked once more.

"Well... I wanted to apologize. For how me and Watari have been acting. It's really screwed up that we've been trying to tear you two apart, but jealousy got the better of us. I'm sorry, please forgive me!"

She sounded like she was getting choked up towards the end of her spiel. Kousei had believed she was being sincere from the second she said apologize, because she was too hard headed to do so otherwise, but her tone surely confirmed this.

"Tsubaki, I forgive you." He said plainly. There was nothing else to it. He understood what she was going through. He had been through the same when Watari dated Kaori.

"Wha... How can you forgive me so easily? What I did was awful!"

"You weren't thinking. You've always been driven by your emotions, and now, I can say I really know what that feels like. You had about as much control over your outbursts as you do my feelings. Because you weren't yourself."

"Kousei, I-"

"Hold on, I'm not quite done yet. I wanted to apologize too."

This took Tsubaki by surprise. She didn't know what he could apologize for.

He continued. "I never really apologized for just up and kissing Kaori out of the blue, that day. I was being driven by emotion too. I was so happy she was okay, and then on top of that, I find out she's in love with me... that was a lot to try and handle."

Tsubaki smiled. "Kousei... you didn't need to apologize for that. I wasn't even mad... I was just jealous. Kaori's probably the one who needs to apologize to someone about that."

"Well, she will. She's going to talk to Watari tomorrow. I think I will as well. At least, after they've finished."

Tsubaki smiled once more, and leaned out the window to extend her hand as far as she could. "So... friends again?" She asked.

Kousei did likewise, and they shook hands. "Friends again." He smiled. When they let go of each other, Kousei almost fell out of the window, which first scared Tsubaki, then elicited a fit of laughter from her once she realized he was fine.

"Haha, K-Kousei, how did you manage that!?" She exclaimed through her guffawing.

The bespectacled boy pulled himself up, thankful his glasses hadn't slipped off his face. "I really don't know, but I'm glad that wasn't any worse than it was. I'd hate to be in a wheelchair right now. That'd be the worst birthday present ever." He said humorously.

This reminded Tsubaki of something. "Oh, Kousei, since we're okay and everything, will we all still be coming over to your house on Wednesday?" She asked. Wednesday was the 28th, which of course, was his birthday.

"Oh, yeah, please. I'd hate to be all alone. My dad won't be able to get home until Friday at the earliest, and Hiroko has to go see Koharu in a little play the school is putting on."

"Well aren't you mentoring that one girl?" Tsubaki inquired.

"Yeah, she's cool, but, I mean, I wouldn't want to celebrate my birthday with her. Nagi's just my student, you know? Besides, she isn't really anal about practice like I used be, she'll let me cut our lesson a little short so we can hang out." He said that, and it dawned on him just how little he was actually practicing. For the last month, he would typically only practice after Nagi had just left from a lesson.

"Oh, well, alright then. I'll be looking forward to it." She said, somewhat awkwardly.

They exchanged a few more words, then bid each other goodnight.

* * *

Finally, the 28th arrived. Kousei came home from school, after being systematically ignored all day because no one really remembered it was his birthday. He was alright with it though. He'd feel weird getting special treatment from people.

About half an hour after he came home, Nagi knocked on his front door. It time for her lesson. He let her in, and they began.

* * *

About two hours had passed, and like usual, Nagi wasn't struggling with the pieces she was learning at all. She was a good player, but she wasn't perfect. Kousei made little tweaks here and there, to try and make her playing more lively. He didn't want her to become 'a slave to the score', or 'a human metronome', like he had.

"That's not bad, Nagi, but it'd sound better if you loosened up your wrists a little. You look like you're trying to grab your forearm with you hand bent like that." He joked. He grabbed her hands and adjusted them so. Nagi blushed just a little.

"Okay, Arima-sensei..." She said nervously. "Like this?" She played the passage again, this time to Kousei's liking.

"Much better." He beamed. "Look's like it's past 6 though, you'd probably better get going, I need to get ready."

Nagi frowned. "Are you sure we can't go just a little longer?" She pleaded.

"I'm afraid not. Me and my friends have been going through some conflict that we just recently resolved, and we all really just need to hang out and relax." Kousei remembered his talk with Tsubaki, and... well, he didn't really have much of a talk with Watari. It was more like, he walked up to Watari, and said brunette instantly embraced him and apologized for being a 'selfish asshole'. Of course, Kousei did likewise, except on the account of laying Watari out instead of being a selfish asshole. And that's pretty much all she wrote.

"Will your girlfriend be here too?" Nagi inquired with a devilish smirk.

Kousei was practically stunned. He'd never mentioned Kaori and him dating to her, and he was pretty certain Hiroko didn't.

"Wha... How do you you know about that!?"

"I can hear it when you play. You're in love with that violinist, aren't you Arima-sensei?" She said, remaining smug.

Kousei just sighed and shrugged. "I plead guilty."

Nagi suddenly found herself wishing she played the violin.

* * *

It was about 6:30, and Kousei heard a knock on the door. He had cleaned up a little, and gotten a movie ready to play. He went to open the door, but was surprised to only see Tsubaki and Watari. He welcomed them, then opened his phone to check the time, and saw he had missed text from Kaori. 'gonna run a little late, but I'll be there! luv you!' it read. He figured she had a good reason, and went to talk to his two present friends.

About ten minutes later, another knock came to the door. Watari said he'd go get it. He came back with Kaori, and the surprise she'd been hauling here which had made her late.

"Woah, what's this, Kao?" He gestured to the white box she had placed on the coffee table.

"My parents own a bakery, what do you think it is?" She said cynically.

A look of understanding came across Kousei's face. "Did you really ask your parents to bake me a cake?"

"Sure did!"

"Kao, you didn't have to do that..." He said, humbled at both her and her parents kind gesture.

"Yeah, well, we wanted to." She said with a smile. "Plus, we needed a little chocolate to spice up the evening."

At this, she opened the box, but he wouldn't have realized it was chocolate if she hadn't said anything. The cake was anything but dark, with white icing covering its surface, along with many different colored candles, and different colored frosting, both decorating the rim of the cake, and also spelling out 'happy 15th'.

"Wow, it looks awesome." Chimed in Watari from the opposite side of the table.

"It really is beautiful." Added Tsubaki

"Thank you, Kaori. That's really sweet of you." He said, giving her a hug. "You're seriously the best"

Tsubaki tried her best not to get jealous, but she couldn't remember the last time she had made him genuinely smile like that. She looked away, a little flustered, but managed to keep her thoughts clean of anything crude.

After that, they jokingly sang happy birthday to Kousei, knowing it would embarrass him. They had a good laugh about it, then cut into cake and started the movie. Kaori cuddled up next to Kousei, but they were careful not to get too friendly

* * *

After the movie, they talked for a little longer, then Watari was the first to leave.

"Whelp, I don't want to be a bother any longer. I should probably be getting home anyway." The remaining three sent him off and wished him a good night.

Tsubaki lingered a little bit longer, but then, possibly because she felt like a third wheel, decided to head off as well. As she put it, her and Kousei would probably talk later anyway.

This left Kousei and Kaori to their own devices. Of course, being in private now, they got a lot more touchy, but they still stayed relatively reserved.

"Hey, Kousei, will you play me something on the piano? I haven't heard you play in forever." She asked him at one point.

"Sure I will." He assured her. "Anything specific you want to hear?"

She shook her head no. At this, he had an idea. They went upstairs and into his room, where he played her Liebesfreud, love's joy. She sat next to him, and leaned her head on his shoulder, while he played the song beautifully.

"We really need to perform together again sometime." She said once he had finished. "It's been too long." He agreed. Then, he checked the time. It was almost 10.

"Shit! Kaori, its almost 10, aren't your parents expecting you home?"

His outburst startled her at first, but then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Well, you see," She began. "I told my parents, that I was gonna drop off the cake at your house, but then go spend the night with my friend, because her mom was off on a business trip overnight, and she didn't want to stay alone. It was a little hard to convince them to let me go at first, given that I just came home, but they aren't incredibly protective, so it wasn't all that hard. They said that they would give us money to go out to dinner tomorrow to celebrate instead, teehee."

Kousei didn't quite understand what she was getting at. "Aaaand why did you do that?" He asked, confusedly.

"Because..." She started, pulling him off the bench and getting close to him. "Now they aren't expecting me home tonight."

Kousei was still a little confused at first, but then, maybe because of her seductive tone, it clicked. And when it did, he turned a new shade of red.

"K-K-aori... What are you... What do you..." He was suddenly a stuttering mess. She giggled at him and gave him a powerful shove so that he fell onto his bed. She also climbed into his bed, and hovered over him.

She whispered into his ear. "That means, tonight, I'm all yours..." She took his glasses off. "You wont be needing these, tonight. I wont be going anywhere far." She grinned, deviously.

He had no idea where the majority of his blood now came to rest; in his face, or at his waist. When she came down to kiss him though, there was a hunger in her kiss that he had never felt before. It was intense, almost violent. She reached her hand up his shirt to feel his chest. She straddled him and stayed in total contact with him. Within a few moments, he returned the favor.

Pretty soon, both were stripping down from their clothes. Kousei drank the sight of his blonde beauty. She was flawless, absolute perfection. He couldn't decide if she was an angel that night, simply from beauty, or a devil, simply from sin. He felt like the luckiest guy alive- I mean, he WAS getting lucky, after all.

Soon enough even undergarments were a thing of the past, and the couple made love throughout a majority of the night ahead of them, eventually falling asleep in each others arms.

This was definitely the best birthday present Kousei had ever received.

* * *

Chapter 7- End

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, I did it. I really did it. You're welcome!**

 **Hope you enjoyed. Later ^_^**


	8. Journey

Chapter 8- Journey

* * *

Through the curtains of his room, Kousei noticed the peaking sunlight through his squinting eyes. He looked away from the window, and saw the back of Kaori's head, her back to his chest, her firmly in his arms. He smiled, and snuggled up closer to her. He could stay like this forever. He almost fell back to sleep, when he remembered he wasn't wearing his glasses.

He looked up to see if he could find where Kaori had put them without moving. He noticed that his eyesight seemed better than he remembered, as it was a very rare occasion that he took off his glasses. He saw them sitting on the nightstand and relaxed... until he saw his clock out of the corner of his eye.

It read 9:33 AM. It was Thursday morning, and they were late for school.

" _Fuck!"_ He thought to himself, careful to not disturb his partner. _"I swear, I get one good day, then it's right back through the ringer!"_ He needed to wake Kaori up, but he didn't want to startle her. He decided to do it gently.

Kousei shook her shoulder. "Hey, Kao, you awake?" He asked softly. She began to roll over, and yawned.

Through half open eyes she addressed him groggily. "Hey, sweetie. You're up early"

"Hehe... uh, I wish I was. Look what time it is" He gestured at his clock. She read it and went stiff. Kousei was about to say something when she shot out of the bed at breakneck speeds.

When her feet hit the ground though, she fell to her knees. This scared Kousei beyond measure, as he thought her legs may have given out again. He immediately expressed his concern, and sat up, prepared to get out of bed, when she slowed him. "I'm fine, Kousei. My legs are still just kind of jelly from last night." She said surprisingly seriously. Kousei, in a matter of seconds, went from terror, to relief, to great pride. _"Hehe, guess I did pretty good then!"_ He thought.

Kaori saw the stupidest grin appear on his face, and a sudden burst of confidence in his eyes. "Oh my god Kousei, we're late! We don't have time for you to get all proud and smug! Why are you just sitting there!?" Kousei wasn't sure if he wasn't moving because she had scared him, or because she was still totally undressed, as was he. This didn't seem to phase her though.

"Come on slowpoke!" She commanded, now standing. "We've gotta get ready! We can make it to second period if we shower together, that'll be faster." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. He had absolutely no clue how she was so serious in such an awkward situation. But, apparently they were about to shower together, he wouldn't dare complain.

* * *

After they had showered and gotten dressed (Kaori had brought her uniform with her, considering she was spending the night away from home), they took Kousei's bike, which he didn't use often, because they only had about ten minutes to get to school before the bell ending first period would ring. There was a chance they could make it in unnoticed.

They pulled up to the school with seconds to spare, and they ran through the front door as the bell rang. They both had to catch their breath, especially Kousei, who had been pedaling.

"Alright..." Kousei said still huffing and puffing. "Neither of us have a first class with Tsubaki or Watari, so we should be fine as long as we don't-"

"Sup guys." Watari greeted them from out of the blue.

Kousei nearly jumped out of his skin. "Ah! Um, hey, what's up Watari? How was first period?"

"I mean, it's school like always. Hey, isn't your first class on the third floor? How'd you get down here so fast?" He inquired.

Kousei looked to Kaori, hoping she could help, but she had just as helpless a look on her face as he did. "Uh, you see..." He began. Luckily, the warning bell rang throughout the hallway. "Oh, well damn, sorry Watari, got to go. See you Later!" He turned around to give Kaori a hug then quickly departed. _"Phew... literally saved by the bell."_

* * *

The rest of school day went by pretty normally, with Kaori and Kousei having a good laugh about their predicament at lunch. Despite what had happened, things still felt the same between them. And he was happy.

After school had ended, Kousei was walking out of the building, when he noticed some pamphlets sitting outside of the guidance office. He had happened to just be walking by and gave them a glance without stopping... until he saw the word violinist. This of course captured his interest.

The main text on the pamphlet read; 'The Grand International Recital: A competition between Japan's musically gifted youth, where a violinist with piano accompaniment will preform through both preliminary judging and competition, to determine who will go to represent Japan in Berlin, at the Grand International Recital.'

The rest of the words on the paper were irrelevant to Kousei. He was already sold. This was just the opportunity he was looking for, because not only would this give him a chance to travel overseas, which was justification on its own, but it would allow him and Kaori to finally play together again. They could truly go on a journey together.

Kaori usually didn't leave the building this way, so she probably hadn't seen it yet. It would be an excellent thing to surprise her with on the way home. He met her in front of the school, and walked they began on their way.

* * *

As they approached her humble abode, Kousei stopped her, and procured the folded pamphlet from pocket. "Here, look at this, Kao." He said, handing her the paper. As she read, her eyes slowly and progressively lit up, until she was practically shaking with trepidation.

"Oh my god, Kousei, this is everything we've been looking for and more!" She jumped into his arms for an embrace. "Kousei we have to enter, we just have to!"

He laughed at her once again free spirit, something it seemed only the joy of music could bring out of her. Not to say she was boring most of the time. "Haha, no, we won't just enter, Kao. We'll win." He said, beaming with confidence.

Kaori backed away from him. "Well then, Kousei Arima, I hereby once again, appoint you my accompanist." She said, a somewhat nostalgic look in her eyes. Kousei quickly adopted the same look.

"I don't know, are you sure you can handle me this time around?" He said jokingly.

She instantly smiled her usual, spur of the moment devious grin. "I dunno. I handled you pretty well last night though." She turned and began walking without another word, leaving Kousei in a state of shock, mouth agape.

"Well come on, silly." She called back to him. "There's a web address on here where we can get more info, lets go!"

He collected himself, gave himself a fair chuckle at her goofiness, and caught up with her. Kaori was not your typical lady. She was crude. She was not always mannerly. She was a bully. She was a freak in the sheets.

But she was also kind. She was loving. Great with kids. Adored by anyone who got to know her. She was like two separate entities in one being. She was a mystery to him, but he loved that about her. He loved everything about her, without a shadow of a doubt. He had her now, and he wouldn't have her any other way.

He thought to himself when he next saw her beautiful face. _"We're finally going on that journey we promised each other. Today, I'm taking off with you."_

* * *

Chapter 8- End

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little short. I'm really tired, and honestly not even sure if I'll upload tomorrow. But yeah, on top of me being tired, I couldn't really go many other places with the content of this chapter without making it boring, or off topic. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless. Later ^_^**


	9. A Classic Duet for a Classic Romance

Chapter 9 – A Classic Duet for a Classic Romance

* * *

Kousei and Kaori went inside, and briefly greeted the girls parents and told them of the competition. The blonde's mother was a little skeptical at first, of her daughter competing again so soon, but her father thought it was a great idea. He'd seen Kaori outside of the hospital this past week, and she seemed perfectly normal and healthy. He thought it'd be a perfect opportunity for both his daughter and Kousei, sharing the two's sentiments. Reluctantly, Kaori's mother agreed. The two thanked her parents and hurried upstairs to check the website listed on the paper.

As they searched the webpage for all the details they needed, they found a list of countries who would attend the concert, and the competitors who had already registered to compete for the chance to represent their country. There were many major nations listed, including Japan, Germany, The United States, France, England, Russia, Italy, China, Australia, Poland, and many other small nations, like Luxembourg, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Iran, Vietnam, Mexico, Austria, and several more.

The scale of this concert was massive. It may as well have been a musical Olympics. Seeing as the lists were up, the two clicked on Japan to see their competition. Of course, the deadline for registration wasn't here yet, so the list was subject to change, but it'd give them a good idea of what they were up against. The amount of names staggered them both. After searching through them for almost two minutes, they had made it to the middle of the list, where the found the names Takeshi Aiza and Emi Igawa.

This didn't much surprise Kousei, seeing his fierce competition once again appear alongside him. But he knew this meant it would be one hell of a battle after the prelims, because most likely all of them would advance together, but only one could be victorious in the end. He imagined they we're looking for revenge after their defeat in the February competition.

"Looks like you're gonna have to put your heart into this time, buddy." Kaori said to Kousei. "'Cause you'll have more to fight against on stage than me." She smiled, obviously referencing their first performance together, where they had practically fought each other for control over the audience despite Kousei being her accompanist.

"Look, here's the set piece." Said Kousei, pointing to a spot on the screen. "Looks like its the 3rd movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, in C# minor."

(Quick A/N for those of you who've never touched a piece of music in your lives, C# just means C Sharp.)

"Really? Such a well known piece of music, but... they've made an adaptation for violin, I guess?" Kaori thought that was rather unusual.

"Yeah, but it's not like they don't exist. Besides, at least this time you're in my territory, as opposed to me having to learn an adaptation of a violin piece." He said, complacently.

She gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, we'll see you keep that look when I kick your ass on stage, Arima."

"Language, Kaori, geez." He jokingly scolded her.

She laughed and began to pull him along. "Come on, you jerk. Your piano is at your place so we need to practice there. You don't have any lessons with Nagi today, do you?"

"Nah, we're good. We need to see about getting you a score first. Even if you don't play it by the books you still need a foundation."

"Ugh, you're such a killjoy." She pouted.

"Relax, Kao, I have a printer at home. It shouldn't be hard to find a decent score online. Besides, since you indeed WON'T follow it to the letter, it means the score we find doesn't have to be brilliant. Just good enough."

"Fair enough..."

"Well come on then!" He exclaimed, suddenly bringing her with him this time.

* * *

Once they got to his house, they rushed right to his computer to find a score online. Once a decent one was printing, Kousei got them both glasses of water, and they took both their drinks and the score upstairs to Kousei's room, where they had been just earlier this morning. It still felt weird to Kousei, but it didn't bother Kaori, so he didn't let it get to him.

Kaori opened up the window once she walked in. She liked the fresh air when she played. Kousei of course, knew this piece by heart. It was a classic, especially the third movement, which had been one of the greatest examples of unbridled emotion in the history of musical composition. Nonetheless, it was still incredibly difficult, given the fast speed of the song, as well as the large jumps in both the left and right hand. He considered pulling out his score, but decided against it. He'd rather challenge himself.

He played through the song once for Kaori, so she could follow along with her score to get her pacing matched with his. Of course, to do this, he had to play the song note for note, like he used to. Surprisingly, this felt strange to him. Almost... wrong. He guessed Kaori had a bigger impact on his playing than even he realized. There were many times he found himself wanting to speak his heart, with the piano as his medium. Still, he focused on playing correctly. At least, correctly as far as the sheet music was concerned.

Kaori knew how good he was, but was still impressed that he was able to play such a complex piece perfectly from memory. _"A slave to the score, indeed... but I guess I freed you from those shackles, hehe!"_

After he finished, they noticed a voice come from outside. They both looked over and saw Tsubaki leaning her head out her window.

"Hey Kousei, you're killing it! What's the occasion?" She asked, a genuine smile on her face, one of the first either of them had seen from her in some time.

"Ah, Tsubaki! Thanks, and the occasion happens to be that me and Kaori are going to Germany to play in a recital. So you know, no big deal." He smiled a great smile at her guffaw.

"WHAT!? When did THIS happen!? How did this happen!?" She was completely stunned at the suddenness of the situation.

Kaori giggled at her. "Not quite. There's a competition going on, and the pair that wins represents Japan at a concert in Berlin. But we're definitely gonna win this. Me and Kousei can't be stopped together. We rule!" She balled her hands into fists and put them on her hips like some kind of superhero. Her bravado made both Kousei and Tsubaki chuckle.

"Wow, that sounds awesome you guys." She said. "You mind if I keep listening? You two trying to figure out a song with each other is one of the funniest things I've ever experienced." She said, cracking herself up at the memories of Kaori and Kousei arguing in the music room.

Kaori and Kousei both understood exactly what she was talking about. A slight blush of embarrassment touched both of their faces.

"Sorry, Tsubaki, but we've got this under wraps this time around. It'll be way more chill. But feel free to listen to the magic if you want." Returned Kousei.

"Haha, if you say so, Arima. And yes, I'll gladly stay tuned in" Tsubaki went back to her schoolwork, but left her window open so that she could hear the two musicians from the house next door. _"Hehe, this should be good..."_ The brunette thought to herself.

Sure enough, minutes after Kaori got the piece down to a science of her own, and the two started playing together, they went right back to fighting, arguing, and bickering just like good old times.

* * *

At one point, Tsubaki heard Kaori scolding at Kousei for playing the piece a little too blandly. 'Don't you know ANYTHING about how to play that thing, dummy!?'. This in particular amused Tsubaki, more than anything else either of them had said to each other that day.

There was no denying Kaori was a genius on that violin of hers, and of course Kousei would never be able to match her on one. That being said, Kaori would never be able to come close to Kousei on the piano, and all in all, despite them playing different instruments, Kousei was a much better musician than his blonde companion. He especially was now that he could play from his heart, and not just a piece of paper. It was evident Kaori didn't share the same sentiment, however.

* * *

Kousei and Kaori, unfortunately, had gone right back to being at each others throats as usual. What was different this time however, was that instead of Kousei being bullied by his lover, he had some pretty choice words for her as well. After all, this was a song that knew very well. Despite her not trying to play exactly as the song should be, there were sometimes when she took her creativity too far, to the point where it no longer captured the essence of Beethoven's message.

Regardless, they still made exceptional progress in their coming together with the song, despite having to stop several times to scold Tsubaki for laughing at them. It practically sounded like they were playing as one person as it was, and that was only bound to get better.

After they finished, they both sat down next to Kousei's window and had a conversation about nothing in particular with Tsubaki. It was the most normal things had felt in some time. Of course though, as it grew later, Tsubaki needed to get to bed. She didn't want to be tired during Softball practice the next day. That left Kaori and Kousei alone. It was 8 PM at the time, and they both realized that they hadn't eaten dinner at all.

"Hey, Kao, you said your parents gave you money for us to go get dinner together, didn't you?"

Kaori giggled as Kousei's stomach promptly rumbled. "Mmm hmm, they sure did. I guess we should probably go get something, huh?"

"Definitely. I'd never condone tricking your parents like you did yesterday, but boy am I glad you did. I'm starving."

"Oh can it, Kousei, you know that's not the biggest reason your glad I did."

"S-shut up! You're such a pervert, Kao! I've never seen this side of you until recently..."

"And aren't you so happy you are?" She grinned.

Kousei began to blush. "I... I plead the fifth." Kousei quoted something he had heard many times in American comedy videos on the internet. It referred to their fifth amendment in the bill of rights, the right to not have to incriminate yourself.

Kaori got the gist of what he was saying though. "Hehe, come on, you blushing bastard. Let's go eat."

* * *

After the pair had gone to eat, at a place that was nice but not too fancy, given the casualness of their date, not to mention they were still in their school uniforms, they headed back to Kaori's house, because she needed to be getting home. Kousei needed to get to bed too, so he decided not to stay.

Kousei walked her up to the door of her parents shop, waving at them through the window. He turned to Kaori, hands in his pockets, and she turned to him, hands behind her back. They stood for a moment in silence, simply enjoying each others company.

The blonde broke their blissful silence. "Hey, have you gotten taller, Kousei?"

"Hm? Well, I mean, probably. That's kinda what people do at this stage of life, Kao." He chuckled sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "But it seems like it happened so suddenly. You're a good five to six inches taller than me."

"Well maybe we just weren't paying attention. To be fair, we've been pretty occupied with other things."

"It still feels weird though. You never seemed like the masculine type, yet... you have a deeper voice than I expected, your stronger than you were when I met you, obviously you've gotten taller."

Kousei was kind of confused at what she was getting at. Kaori didn't really know where she was going either. Her thoughts were a total jumble, because she spoke from her heart and not her mind. Nonetheless she continued.

"It's just... odd. From the time I first heard you play, I knew you had to be the one. I always expected you to be much more reserved, and to an extent you are. You certainly aren't as crude as me. But after spending so many years expecting and hoping to spend my life with someone much more... moderate, it almost feels like a slap in the face to find out you're just like a man, physically at least. Deep down though, you're still much more."

Kousei began to grasp what she was getting at, and a soft smile touched his face. "That's your fault, you know. Because of you, I'm not scared anymore. I feel braver, I feel like I can get out there and be myself, I don't have to hide behind anything. People may always think of a true man being fast, or strong, or tall, sort of like Watari." Kaori gave a small frown at her black haired lover. She didn't want him comparing himself to someone who couldn't compare to him in her eyes.

Still, he carried on. "But maybe it has less to do with that, and more to do with courage, and confidence in who you are. I couldn't accept what I was after my mother died. Then I met you, and you fixed me, and for that, I owe you everything I am. Maybe that's why I'm changing so fast. Maybe I worried so much about who I was gonna be that I stunted my growth." He finished jokingly. They both gave a small chuckle.

"You really are amazing, Kousei Arima. I'm glad you're how you are, because you're more than I could have ever dreamed of. You're just as kind and sweet as I had always imagined, but it doesn't hurt to have a cutie for a boyfriend, either. Luckily, you're both." She said, her lips forming an ever innocent grin.

Kousei blushed a little. "Ah, you're sure one to talk. I'm lucky I'm not having to fight back other guys like we were playing king of the hill to be with you, because I don't think anything so close to perfection has ever graced the face of this earth. No ones perfect, but you're cutting it close, Kao."

It was obvious his words had touched her, as unborn tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. He took his left hand out of his pocket and cupped her cheek, bringing her face up so he could look her in the eyes.

He let a loving smile grace his features before he spoke. "I love you so much, Kaori. Please don't ever doubt that. No matter how much either of us ever change, you'll always be the one for me, and no one will ever come close. Even when we're both old and gray, you'll still be beautiful to me, inside and out. I don't ever want to lose you, I've come too close to that already."

She had to pull him close to cry on his shoulder, as pure, unbridled emotion erupted from her, just like it had that day on the rooftop, before her surgery.

She tried to speak through the lump in her throat. "I love you, Kousei! I don't know what I'd do without you!" She exclaimed, somewhat choking on the words.

He held her close and helped her collect herself. Typically her crying would break his heart, but not this time. He knew these were tears of joy, and of relief. He knew it was in this moment, that any doubt she had of him left en masse through the tears escaping her beautiful blue eyes.

After she had calmed down, he took both of her hands and spoke once more. "Kaori, please, promise me that you wont ever leave me. Promise me that we can stay just like this, for as long as we live. If you can do that, then no matter what hardships we face, I know I can make it through, together."

She clinched his hands as tightly as he did hers, and a smile of calm and reassurance reached her face. "I promise you, Kousei. I promise that for as long as I exist, I'll walk by your side. Even if this world takes me away before it does you, I'll still walk with you and wait for you to come with me."

With that, they had no more words to say to each other. There were no more words to be said. Their heats were beating as one as they once again embraced each other. In this moment, they were united, and nothing could change that.

They shared an unbreakable bond, even deeper than their love for one another. They were meant to be, so destiny proclaimed. She was the light in his life, she gave everything color, and purpose. He was her inspiration, he gave her existence meaning, and he was her best friend. They both bore incredible hardship and struggle in their lives, the kind of things that broke normal people completely. But these two helped repair one another, and in this moment they relinquished the pain of their pasts.

From this point on, they looked to the future. They saw a long road ahead of them, and they were going to walk down it as far as they could, holding hands the entire way.

* * *

Chapter 9- End

* * *

 **A/N: Awwww it's so adorable! Oh, right, you're there, hehe... So yeah, sorry for not uploading for a few days, I was tired, and I got really busy out of nowhere. As compensation, here's a longer than usual chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Later ^_^**


	10. A Score to Settle

Chapter 10- A Score to Settle

* * *

A/N: Yes, before you even ask, I definitely made a pun in the title. Please don't flame me.

* * *

The next several days, though peaceful, were also unremarkable in most ways. Nothing particularly exciting was happening around town, and it felt though a blissful calm was falling over Kousei's world, when it had been so chaotic for what felt like forever now. His father did finally get to come home though, but that in itself was more unusual than maybe anything that had happened over the past month. Nonetheless, the world remained quiet.

Tuesday of the next week however, things took a turn for the comedic, as school was dismissed early in the day. The reason was simply a small trash can fire caused by a cigarette. No damage was really done to any of the property on campus, but small an incident it was, it caused a lot of commotion and a lot of paperwork. The staff decided it would just be easier if the students were out of the school. They wouldn't be able to focus anyway.

Everyone left the school at once, eager to enjoy their day off. Amongst the massive waves of humanity it was impossible to find anybody. Kousei didn't even bother looking for Kaori, but knew their was nobody he wanted to spend this day with more, especially because they'd done almost nothing together except practice for several days now.

He decided it would be easier to simply call her than try to locate her in the mess that had become the campus of his school. Once he got a hold of her, they decided to meet up at the cafe they were at the day Kaori first asked Kousei to be her accompanist, almost a year ago.

* * *

When the two met up, they sat down at a table inside. It was still a little early for lunch, so the blonde ordered a green tea, while the bespectacled boy ordered a glass of milk, no surprise there.

Kaori and Kousei continued on talking as they enjoyed their beverages, and each others company. While they were talking, however, a young man walked in, one who couldn't have been more than a year older than the two. He wore a different school uniform than them, so he didn't attend the same school. He was rather tall, with medium length but rigid brunette hair, deep brown eyes, and though he was certainly no body builder, he was rather muscular.

The two didn't really notice him, considering he was nothing out of the ordinary. Just another customer. However, he did catch a bit of their attention when he commuted to a nearby table, and said table's occupants all greeted him, like he was some kind of superstar.

"Guess he's some big deal, eh Kousei?" Kaori asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Yeah... I guess so." Kousei couldn't put his finger on as to why, but something about this particular character gave him all kinds of bad vibes. Still, he tried to carry on like normal.

After a few minutes, he could see the friends of the young man begin gesturing towards the piano against the side of the shop. Not so reluctantly, he rose and approached it, taking a seat at its bench. Then, capturing the attention of everyone present in the cafe, he began to expertly play a piece by Ravel. He may not look the part, but this person was a pianist up one side and down the other. Suddenly, any doubts Kousei had of him vanished, and he become enthralled with who exactly he was.

After the brunette pianist finished, Kousei stood to go introduce himself.

"Excuse me," Began Kousei, extending a hand to the young man. "That was really impressive. Oh, pardon me, my name is-"

"Kousei Arima. Believe me, you require no introduction." He stated, also extending his hand, so they could shake and formally greet each other. "I've actually been hoping I could meet you for some time, even though I'm sure that's obvious. Every pianist in Japan want's to meet you."

Kousei was kind of surprised at his respectful gesture. "Well... I don't know about all that. But I guess my name does get out there, hehe."

"My name is Yazuki Shinohara, I'm glad to finally meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Shinohara-san"

"Please, just call me Yazuki. I require no such honorifics, though I appreciate the gesture."

Once again, Kousei was incredibly surprised at this figures nontraditional disposition. "O-Okay... then the same goes for you. Just call me Kousei."

Yazuki smiled. "Well then, Kousei, if it's no trouble, do you think you could do us a favor and try out the piano for yourself?"

"Oh, I suppose. Sure thing." Kousei returned with a kind smile of his own. He was rather humbled that this random stranger would be so obliged as to ask him out of the blue to play for him and everyone else in the cafe, after he himself had just performed.

Kousei sat down at the piano, did a quick five second warm up, and then began to play the piece he and Kaori had been working on for almost a week now. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata rang throughout the the cafe, bringing with it the modesty and humility Kousei had gained in his heart just moments before.

One he had finished, Yazuki walked up to him. "Ah, Kousei, so I'm to assume that you've entered the Berlin competition as well?"

This boy seemed to have no end to his surprises. "Oh, well, yes. I guess you are too then?"

"Indeed." Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a devious, arrogant grin touched Yazuki's lips. "For most people your entrance would be rather concerning. You are the human metronome after all. But me... I'm not so concerned. Because, well... don't take it personally, but..." Yazuki came a little close to Kousei. "...I think I'm better than you."

Kousei was sick of hearing the word surprise run through his head at every other thing Yazuki said. First he humbled him, now he demeaned him. Regardless, disrespectful as it was, Kousei needed not make a scene about it.

Kaori, along with several other people amongst the impromptu audience heard Yazuki's words, laced with venom, so that all present had a chill run down their spines. The blonde saw Kousei's disposition change quickly to something more of a defensive one. She decided it may be best to intervene, as it was obvious Kousei wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty.

She quickly rose and closed in on the two. "Kousei, that was awesome! Why can't you play like that more often in practice!?" She exclaimed to the black haired boy.

Kousei turned to her, and the look of frustration he bore quickly turned to one of happiness. That's all she ever brought to him. Curious of what had so abruptly stolen Kousei's attention, Yazuki turned his head to the side to catch a glimpse of this girl approaching. Within a split second of him catching sight of Kaori, his eyes grew wide and his mouth agape. This female specimen passing by him was the essence of perfection. He didn't know if he had ever seen such a magnificent creature. He didn't care at all what her relationship to Kousei was. She would be his, and his alone.

"Hey, thanks Kao." Kousei said, embracing his significant other. "I just wish everyone else shared the same sentiment..." He remarked, shooting Yazuki a very very brief dirty look, which quickly turned to amusement when he saw the look of surprise in his eyes.

"Ah, where are my manners. Yazuki, Kaori. Kaori, Yazuki." Kousei proclaimed, looking slightly smug.

Kaori bowed to the brunette. "It's nice to meet you mister!"

At this, Yazuki confidently closed the distance, grabbing Kaori's hand, and raising it up, placing a gentle kiss upon it. "Please, the pleasure belongs to me, madam."

Both Kousei and Kaori were shocked beyond action at what had just occurred. Kaori from the sudden bravado that she was being attacked with, and Kousei from the unspeakable audacity that he had just witnessed. A short lady from the table Yazuki had been at also stood in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me, Zuki!? I'm right here you know!" He completely and utterly ignored her. She appeared to be his girlfriend. At least, she was until she stormed out of the cafe in tears, followed by the rest of her comrades.

After Yazuki had let go of Kaori's hand, Kousei decided he had had enough of this guy's attitude. He stepped directly in between him and his lover and got into the audacious boy's face. He was only an inch or two taller than Kousei.

"Alright, you listen here buddy, I don't care how good you think you are at piano, or how much of a player you think you are, you keep whatever you have against me just there. Between you and me. Bringing her into this is asking for trouble, and if you touch her again I'm gonna show you just how much trouble you're in!"

Kousei's sudden outburst obviously displeased Yazuki greatly, as his expression turned rapidly to a dark scowl. "I don't know where you think you get off talking to me like that, Arima. But... I'll give you a single pass. I mean, how could I not, you're the person who inspired me to start playing piano in the first place. However, I didn't desire to be just like you... I wanted to be so much more."

"Competitive guy, aren't ya'?" Kousei retorted, still maintaining full eye contact, without even a single blink.

"Competitive is such a crude word... I prefer to think of it as, having a desire to self-succeed, if you will. I became captain of the baseball team my first year playing, just because I kept smashing my own records. Still, I want to beat more than myself on the piano. I'm going to beat you too." He said over confidently.

The black haired boy had had quite enough of this guy's attitude. He didn't care who was watching. He bared his teeth as if he could use them as a weapon when his lips curled into a furious scowl. He grabbed Yazuki by the collar of his shirt and hissed a vicious warning right in his face.

"That'll do! Why don't you go home and practice some more like the _expert_ you are, so you can feel bad when we kick your ass during the competition?"

Yazuki was hauling back his arm to swing when Kaori swiftly interrupted them. "BOYS! Relax! Can we not handle this in an orderly manner? There's less than a week till prelims, you can settle your differences with fingers on the keys, not fingers on each other."

Suddenly, Yazuki once again became very egotistical, and sure of himself, though Kousei remained seething. The brunette spoke up. "Very well. That's an excellent idea, darling. But you see, I'm a very impatient man. I'd prefer to see what old Arima has packing right now."

He turned to Kousei and gave a devious grin. "What do you say, pal? A duel for the ladies affections?"

At this point, Kousei truly didn't know whether to shit or go blind. "You're talking nonsense! She's no prize to be won, she's a person all on her own." He stated, beginning to collect himself.

"Hm... or perhaps you're scared? Scared she'll hear in your playing how insincere you are, how selfish you are, maybe that she can do so much better than the likes of you. She would be much better off with me, and I think we both know that."

The brunette and black haired pianists looked each other eye to eye. A moment of silent communication passed. They hatred in their eyes said more than any words either of them could ever find.

Kousei looked down towards the ground, knowing he couldn't back down now. "Fine... you go first, dreamboat."

"Believe me, I intend to."

Kaori walked up to Kousei, grabbing his arm. "You don't have to do this, Kousei. Maybe we should just go..."

"No, it's fine Kao. You watch, this'll be a piece of cake."

Yazuki once again sat down at the piano, and began to play. However, there was no song in particular he played. Instead, his piece seemed to combine elements of many different composers- in particular, Ravel, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Mozart- in a way that simply let emotion flow. Somehow, he had fully regained control, and the music he played was tranquil and loving. Yet still, there was a vulgarity and vileness to it that made Kaori feel nauseous.

He stood after about four minutes of playing, and gestured for Kousei to take his turn. He had no clue how he would do this, being that he had only ever learned how to add on to a preexisting piece. But that wouldn't cut it here, not when everyone was listening for pure emotion, not composition. He decided to do something he'd never done before. He was gonna open his heart and wing it.

Kousei's composition began similar to Yazuki's, calm and loving, but with a certain intensity to it that Yazuki's had lacked. He knew there was no doubt in anyone's mind that his feelings for Kaori must be more sincere than his rivals. However, as he continued to play, he began to think less and less of Kaori, and more and more of Yazuki. As a result, his playing quickly evolved from its tranquility into something more violent and hateful, full of rage. Kousei knew this was bad, but he couldn't control the flow of his emotions spilling onto the keys as he played. He knew now that one of two things would happen. One, the intensity in the beginning could be mistaken for lingering anger at his opponent, or two, he would end up sending signals of both love and hate towards Kaori. He was certain the latter would be worse, and also certain that it would be the most likely interpretation of his piece.

Eventually, he got a grip. He forced himself, no matter much it pained him to do so, to stop. On that note, Yazuki turned his back to Kousei and addressed him one final time. "Hm, I knew you were slipping, but I thought you'd at least be a challenge. Good riddance Arima. Have fun struggling through the prelims. And as for you Kaori, dear, I hope to be seeing you again soon." With that, he walked off, through the door that a crowd of outsiders had gathered around to enjoy the spectacle that had appeared before them.

Kousei remained seated, resting his hands upon his knees, slouched over, trying to come back to his senses. Never in his life had he dealt with something so disgusting as that man. How dare Yazuki call himself a musician!

Kaori walked over to him, and gently started to help him up. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go home..."

Kousei didn't respond. He was too lost in his thoughts. _"_ _I don't know when I'm gonna see you again, y_ _ou bastard, but just know that when I do... I've got a score to settle!"_

* * *

Chapter 10- End

* * *

 **A/N: Oooooohhhhh shit, it's all kicking off now. If only Kousei knew that making enemies with that guy was one of the worst decisions he'd ever make. Why? Well... no spoilers ;)**

 **I hope you enjoyed as always, and... once again, please don't flame me for the atrocious pun, lol. Later ^_^**


	11. With Your Help

Chapter 11- With Your Help

* * *

Tsubaki was stuck in the waves of people leaving her school after the little incident. She suddenly had a whole day ahead of her and she didn't really know what she was going to do.

As the crowd began to thin, she noticed Kousei standing on the sidewalk, on the phone. She was just about to walk up to him to see what he was going to spend his day doing, when suddenly he took off down the street after hanging up.

Tsubaki crossed her arms and pouted, leaning on the school's exterior wall. _"Well, I know exactly who you're spending your day with."_ She thought. _"There's only one person you'll run like that for."_ The disappointed girl stood back upright and turned around, just to be greeted by a familiar figure.

* * *

Watari was sitting on a bench across the street from school. He was outside when the announcement came over the intercom stating that the school day was over. The boy wisely decided to hurry his way off the campus before he was trampled by the incoming stampede of students.

Across the street, he was able to make out Kousei talking on the phone with someone. After a few moments, he put his phone away and hauled ass somewhere else. Thinking of phones, he decided to text Kaori to see if she wanted to hang out. To his dismay, she replied saying that she and Kousei were going somewhere. _"Ah..."_ The brunette thought. _"So that's why Kousei was in such a hurry. Oh well, can't blame them I guess. They haven't had time do anything but practice lately, so I guess they deserve this day off."_

As more people cleared the front entrance to the campus, Watari was able to make out the figure of Tsubaki, leaning against the outer wall. The softball player sure didn't look very energetic, so he decided to cross the street and go see what was wrong.

* * *

As he approached, she turned around. It was obvious Tsubaki wasn't expecting him, because she seemed rather startled upon seeing him, but quickly relaxed.

"Oh, hey Watari. You scared me, hehe." She greeted him.

The girl seemed to have cheered up pretty quick. Her small giggle and smile seemed rather forced to him though. "Hey, Tsubaki. Say, are you feeling alright? You looked a little glum just now, eh?"

Tsubaki broke eye contact and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Thanks, Watari... B-but it's nothing! Don't worry, I'm okay, promise!"

"It's about Kousei, isn't it?"

At this, Tsubaki surrendered to her depression and returned to slumping against the wall. "Ugh, Watari, all those two ever do is practice anymore. We've haven't barely seen hide nor hair of either of them for almost a week!" She vented.

He leaned next to her, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her blush slightly. "Hey, cheer up, Tsubaki, it's not all that bad. All that practice just means they're getting better by the minute. And that means that they'll go to competition, kick some serious butt, go to Berlin, and come back exhausted. They won't want to lay eyes on their instruments for weeks! I'm sure then we'll get to celebrate plenty, eh?"

Watari's words genuinely helped Tsubaki perk up. She wasn't sure why, but he seemed so much more... mature, than before. Before she had introduced him to Kaori, he had a much more frivolous attitude, towards anything, but especially towards women. As she remembers once describing it, he was like a walking hard on. It had been almost a year since they had all first met Kaori, and she hadn't yet stopped causing ripples in their routine.

To Watari's surprise, Tsubaki sort of slouched over, coming to lean on his side. She sighed, and continued to vent her frustration to him. "Yeah, I mean, I guess you're right... but... Ugh! I'm so stupid, Watari! Why do I like him like I do? Why can't I just make myself stop falling for him?" She was practically burying her face in Watari's arm at this point.

The boy was a little uncomfortable with the situation, but... no one was really around anymore. Besides, he was her friend and she was going through some rough times now, he needed to be here for her. He reached over with his other arm and pulled her into a very simple embrace; nothing quite like a hug or anything, he thought that might be pushing it.

"Tsubaki, come on... you're not stupid. You're a hell of a lot smarter than me, that's for sure. The thing is, you've barely gone a day in your life without seeing the guy, and now that you've finally realized you've got a thing for him, you haven't seen him in days, because he's hanging out with his girlfriend. I can't even imagine what that's like. I don't blame you for grieving. You've got to look at the silver lining though. At the very least, you know he's happy, eh?"

Tsubaki giggled slightly at the boy's almost cliché speech. Then she realized that in a way, he was right. He admitted that he didn't know the pain she was feeling, at least not to the same extent. At the same time though, she knew that he was juggling his feelings too. Kaori was more than just some girl to him, she was really important. She wondered when he'd find a girl like that again, someone he cared deeply for.

The girl, somewhat shorter than her friend, stepped back and gave him an innocent smile. She felt a lot better now, knowing that she wasn't alone in this. Sure, what he said helped tons, but most of all, she just didn't want to feel alone.

Tsubaki shot the boy an adorable smile, that warmed his heart. _"Well, looks like I was able to help you out a little, eh? It's weird, but when I see you smile like that, I'm almost able to forget about Kaori..."_

Suddenly Watari found himself with butterflies in his gut, and it brought alarm to him. He couldn't possibly be falling for this twerp... could he?

As he returned her smile, albeit with slightly reddened cheeks from what he was feeling below the skin, he was surprised to find her tackle him into a full blown hug. When his legs turned weak as he returned the hug, he knew he had answered his own question. _"Yeah... Damn, I'm falling for Tsubaki."_

He gazed at her face, only half hidden by his chest and shoulder, and began to relax. _"Hell... maybe that isn't all so bad though. We both need someone right now. Maybe I could finally forget about Kaori, with your help."_

They separated after a few moments, both with cheeks red as cherries. An awkward silence was beginning to ensue, which was definitely not good right now. Watari had to think quick, so the first thing that spurted out of his mouth was: "Hey, wanna go get something to eat?"

He really hated himself sometimes. _"Dammit could that have been ANY more obvious!?"_ He may as well had asked her on a date directly, because after that scene he doubted that would be interpreted as anything but that.

Tsubaki was a bit taken aback by Watari's suggestion. Could he be asking her on a date? No, of course not! That'd be a silly thought to even entertain. He's him, he'd never like someone like Tsubaki. The brunette girl pulled out her phone to check the time, and gave a small shrug.

"It's a little early, buuuuuuut..." She smirked a little. "...I do know this one really good Cafe that you've got to come try!" She grabbed his hand and began pulling him along. "Hell, maybe you and Kousei have been there before, he likes it too."

Watari wanted to shy away from Tsubaki as their hands met, but he didn't really have that option as he was jerked along with the girl taking the lead. After a few meters traveled reluctantly, he just smiled and gave in, now trying to keep up with her, but also hoping she wouldn't let go of his hand.

* * *

They kept a fair pace almost the whole way to the cafe, but while crossing through the neighboring playground, Watari stopped to catch his breath.

"Damn... Tsubaki..." He exhaled, still catching his breath. "Are we... there yet?"

She just laughed at him. "Haha, some star soccer player you are. Yes, it's literally right across the street, dummy. Now come on"

With that reassurance, he got the energy to at least finish the trek strong. That is, until he picked himself only to see Tsubaki staring across the street in confusion. He hurried over to her.

"Yo, Tsubaki, what's the-" He stopped when he saw what she was eyeballing. Outside the cafe they'd been closing in on for some time now was a large crowd of people, seemingly growing by the minute. They both began approaching at the same time, careful to make sure no cars were coming before crossing the street.

As they entered the crowd, they were able to hear inside, and catch glimpses of the inside of the shop. They didn't understand why nor how, but after a few minutes it seemed as if Kousei was having some sort of piano duel with a young man they'd never seen before.

When Kousei played his piece, however, he began to lose to his emotions, and eventually had to stop. At this, the crowd grew silent, so everyone in the area could hear what the mystery man said to Kousei, whose head was in his hands.

"Hm, I knew you were slipping, but I thought you'd at least be a challenge. Good riddance Arima. Have fun struggling through the prelims. And as for you Kaori, dear, I hope to be seeing you again soon."

Neither of them needed any introduction to know that this guy was a total dick. Not just by what he said, but that he was able to mess with Kousei so much that it affected his playing.

When he left the shop, Watari adopted a scowl that could scare away a full grown man. He was just about to chase after the perpetrator when Tsubaki stopped him.

"No, Watari, we shouldn't get involved in this, it could make it a lot worse." She said, pulling on his arm.

"Grr... maybe your right. But that fucker's gonna get what's coming to him, let me tell ya."

They turned around in time to notice Kousei and Kaori standing to leave. They decided to go as well. They didn't want them to think they were stalking them, plus, Kaori was the only one that could do anything with Kousei right now anyway.

They agreed that they would come back here later today, but for now, go on and do something else.

Watari and Tsubaki ended up spending pretty much their entire day off together. After leaving the cafe that morning, they went to the arcade for about an hour, and then went to the park, playing small games of soccer and softball (more like catch, with a bat) in turn for hours on end. They ended up forgetting about lunch completely.

Around five though, they both realized their folly after their stomachs began quaking in their abdomens. The two decided they should go eat then.

Watari ended up quite liking the cafe just as Tsubaki said he would. She generally had good taste when it came to restaurants and things of the sort, he noticed. They both contemplated saying goodbye after they finished eating, but then realized neither had much to do besides what they were doing right now. Watari noted that he had some spare cash on him, so he offered to take the girl to the movies. Somewhat reluctant to spend the boys money, she accepted. He reassured her that it was okay, though.

They debated for sometime on what they wanted to see, until eventually Tsubaki conceded on the conditions that they were spending Watari's money. They ended up seeing a movie about a Japanese Rugby player that moves to Germany, and has to get used to life their, while also dealing with past demons. Tsubaki ending up loving the movie. Meanwhile, Watari actually wasn't that impressed. Nonetheless, he was glad that she enjoyed the movie. Afterwards, he decided he would walk her home.

Once they reached Tsubaki's house, they stopped on her porch to say goodnight.

"Thanks, Watari. I thought today was gonna be kinda boring, but then you came to the rescue, hehe."

Said young boy scratched his head and looked away shyly. "Well, you know, I try. I had fun too, though. Probably more fun than I've had in some time. It's a shame this couldn't have happened tomorrow. Would've been a pretty good birthday present, eh?"

Tsubaki smacked her head and groaned to herself. "Oh my god, tomorrow's your birthday, I can't believe I forgot! I'm so sorry!"

He laughed at her fit and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it, we never make a big deal out of my birthday. Today definitely made up for it, anyway. For the first time in weeks, I was able to go all day, and not think about Kaori, thanks to you. Even when I was looking dead at her, I didn't feel sad, or jealous, just... happy I was with you."

Tsubaki's heart melted at his words. She didn't quite understand this feeling, but she knew it was familiar. A feeling only Kousei had given her before, even if she felt it much stronger around said pianist. _"Wow... am I really falling for Watari...? Of all people, Watari?"_ She decided that there was one good way to find out, especially now that her heart slightly began to ache thinking of Kousei again.

She pulled Watari close to him. "Well, I'm happy I was with you too. But still, I think I need to give you a present anyway. I'm a little impatient though, so I'll just give it to you now."

Before Watari could do anything but babble like an idiot due to their proximity, she pressed her lips upon his. He decided to just not do anything, but the moment he expected the kiss to end, it perpetuated. He finally gave in and kissed the girl back.

He thought to himself. _"Hehe... I don't know how you did it, but I guess I really did fall for you, Tsubaki."_

Tsubaki thought to herself as well. _"Well... I guess that settles it then. There's no denying it now, is there? You've got me caught in your trap that you catch every other girl in. You might not be what Kousei is to me... But I hope I'm special to you though. Because maybe, with your help, I can finally forget about Kousei Arima."_

* * *

Chapter 11- End

* * *

 **A/N: Awwwww it's so adorable. And hey, now these two can stop being all sad and become relevant to the story again! Yay!**

…

 **If only they weren't about to become TOO relevant... Huehuehue**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed as always. Later ^_^**


	12. Preliminaries

Chapter 12- Preliminaries

* * *

Two day's after the incident at the cafe, the preliminaries finally arrived. It felt like this had taken forever, but the wait was over. Kousei and Kaori didn't know if they were more anxious waiting for this day, or more anxious now that it had come. This was particularly true for Kousei. The last time he had tried to debut internationally, he lost someone close to him. Fortunately, it seemed like things were going much more in his favor this time around. Well... minus mister hotshot Yazuki.

The preliminaries were divided up into three days, to account for the large amount of people competing. Kousei and Kaori had been assigned the third day, but that just gave them more time to practice, so they didn't mind. When they entered Towa hall, the could see the results of the past two day's judging. It appeared Takeshi had performed day one, and had advanced, no surprises there. To both Kousei and Kaori's dismay, Yazuki had competed yesterday, and had advanced top of the leader board, the position he still held.

Neither of them saw Emi's name or the name of her partner, so they could assume unless one of them had really screwed up somehow, they were also being judged today.

* * *

Kousei and Kaori waited patiently in the main lobby of Towa hall for their friends. Judging hadn't started yet, and as it was they were going second to last anyway, so they were in no hurry. They wouldn't even be here this early if not for Kousei being so nervous that they would miss something.

Eventually, the entirety of their fans arrived en masse. Watari, Tsubaki, Hiroko, and Nagi. Hell, even Nao showed up! Apparently she had tagged along as an excuse to ditch school, but on some level she looked genuinely interested in what was about to unfold.

The two musicians stood to greet their friends. "Hey guys!" They said in unison, Kousei somewhat more timidly than his partner.

"What's up you two?" Tsubaki chimed in, quite cheery.

"Kousei, lighten up buddy, you look straight sick. You know you're gonna go out there and rock it!" Watari added coolly.

"He's right, you know. They'll want you to look as good as you sound, Arima-san." Nao said nonchalantly.

Hiroko just laughed and shook her head. "Hehe, seems like you don't need any encouragement from me. Your friends have that covered. I'll go ahead and grab us some seats. Come on Nagi."

"Coming!" The young girl said. She walked over to Kaori. "So you're Arima-sensei's girlfriend, right?"

Kaori nodded firmly. "And proud!" She exclaimed, pulling Kousei into a one-armed embrace that took him off guard.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Miyazono-senpai!" She began to walk off, but got up in Kaori's ear right as she passed by. "I'll be watching you, just keep that in mind, man thief!"

Kaori was really shocked at first in the angelic looking girl's sudden change in demeanor, but then could do no more than laugh after she left. "Seems like your prodigy's got a thing for you, hot stuff."

Kousei groaned, while Watari have a fair chuckle of his own. "Ha, look at that, once you've gotten one, you just can't stop yourself can you playboy? I guess I know where my charm went!" He joked.

Tsubaki shot Watari a look of... something Kousei nor Kaori could determine. "Nah, I don't think it went anywhere."

Watari blushed ever so slightly at this, probably because of her suggestive gesture right in front of their friends. "If you say so..." He mumbled.

Kaori smirked and whispered to her accompanist, "Hey, Kousei, you know what's up with them? They've been acting funny the last few days."

Kousei shrugged. "Beats me. Could just be coincidence. We've barely seen them at all lately, after all."

"Maybe, I guess. Oh well, guess time will tell, huh?"

"Time tells everything, Kao." He said, raising his voice from a whisper now that they could change the subject. "It'll tell us that, it'll tell us what I'm gonna have for dinner tonight, it'll tell us if I'll even feel like eating, based off the results from the judging."

The blonde rolled her eyes at him, as their friends slowly made their way back into the conversation. "Sweetie, how many times to I have to tell you that we're gonna do just fine? Even if we don't top the leader board, you know we'll at least advance."

"Is that guy at the cafe bothering you this much, Kousei?" Tsubaki regretted speaking her thoughts aloud when the two musicians eyed her funnily.

"How do you know about him?" Kousei asked.

Watari once again came to the rescue as Tsubaki was too flustered to save herself. "There were some guy's on the soccer team talking about it. Heard that he's some big shot that goes to another school. Apparently he play's baseball as well?" Watari only knew that last part because he genuinely heard someone around the school talk about it.

"Damn... guess news gets around fast, huh?" asked Kaori, rhetorically.

"Seems so." Kao added. "I've heard about the guy too. Though judging by what I've heard, this sounds like a guy I've heard of before. It seems he's a regular trouble maker."

Kousei, his curiosity now peaked, was about to inquire for a little more from the girl, but then the Judges came on over the intercom announcing that the performances would begin in five minutes. Everyone decided to go take a seat, leaving Kaori and Kousei alone.

* * *

The two remained in the lobby for some time, but eventually decided to head backstage so they could watch the other musicians playing. No one there was bad by any measure, but it certainly seemed like there wouldn't be any stiff competition. At least... not today.

Regardless, having the reassurance that they would be fine right now helped Kousei start to shift back towards his usual positive thoughts. They had practiced, practiced, practiced. Every time it had sounded a little different, but that's exactly what they wanted. They had found the balance between Moonlight Sonata's message and the emotion of the player. What they had created was a masterpiece. In practice, they had certainly always sounded better than those performing now.

Kaori looked over and saw her companion looking much more relaxed and much healthier than before. This helped her to shake off any doubts she had hidden deep below as well. She giggled to herself. _"You're crazy, you know that? You're different than when I first met you. So much harder to pin down, so much weirder, and yet... it feels as if that makes you more normal. Like you were holding back before."_

She leaned over and gave Kousei a peck on the cheek. He looked over somewhat surprised, about to question why she just kissed him so randomly. Then, he saw her smile, and realized he didn't care exactly why she had done what she did. He was just glad she did. He was just glad she was here with him.

A few more people went onstage to play as the couple continued their small talk, eventually beginning to reel in their conversation more towards the topic of their performance, getting mentally prepared for their turn. Then, to their surprise, they were greeted by a figure rather familiar to Kousei.

"Arima-san, I thought I'd see you here."

Kousei turned around, a smile slowly finding its way to his face. "Ah, Igawa-san, good to see you. When we didn't see your name on the leader boards we were concerned something had gone wrong during your performance. Seems you're just here today though."

Kaori tore her eyes away from the screen promptly after hearing Emi's name. Her and Kousei seemed to be good acquaintances, so she wanted to introduce herself.

"Excuse me!" She interjected. "I don't think we've met, Igawa-san. I hear Kousei talk about you a lot, so I thought I should introduce myself." She extended her hand. "My name is Miyazono Kaori, it's nice to meet you."

Emi's eyes lit up in recognition as she reached out to shake the girls hand. "Ah, so you are the girl who was in the hospital in February. I remember Arima-san's friend busting into the room looking for him, saying that 'Kaori was okay'. I don't know exactly what your situation was, but it's good to see you're doing better now, and I'm glad to finally meet you."

Kaori was somewhat relieved that her curiosity about the opposite party was mutual. She knew there was nothing wrong with wanting to meet someone, especially when your boyfriend rambles on and on about them, but it's always a good feeling to know you aren't alone.

It looked as if Kousei was about to say something else, but then a man with a clipboard approached from behind them and signaled to Emi, indicating that she was up next.

"Well, seems like I need to head out there then. I need to go find Kamara real quick."

"Hm, that's your violinist, right?"

"Indeed. He's been struggling with the piece, but lately he's gotten it down pretty well. Anyway, wish us luck!" She ended as she waved goodbye.

Kousei and Kaori waved back, and waited for their friend to go out on stage.

* * *

"Look, Kousei, here they come!" Kaori said, pulling on Kousei's arm to take his attention away from his music sheet. Thus, the pianist tore his eyes away from the score and looked once more to the TV screen.

Several minutes had passed by since Emi had departed, since the performance before her was still finishing up. Now that it was finished. Emi and her partner emerged from backstage, prepared to embark on their own journey in front of the audience. Kousei expected nothing less from the girl.

Emi situated herself in the seat at the piano, making sure it was adjusted just so. In the moments she was doing that, her partner did a quick glance over of his instrument, making sure all was in order. It'd be pretty embarrassing to have to do a quick tuning on stage, though. It... also probably wouldn't sit well on the scorecards.

Emi began to play before her violinist, who seemed to be waiting for a cue from her. She began the piece slowly and softly, much in contrast to the rest of the third movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but it made since to begin the song on a lower tone, as it arguably helped to clarify the intensity of the piece. Even though it wasn't true to the sheet music, they had observed several people before Emi and her partner do this same thing, and they intended to do so as well.

Emi left her short intro on a somewhat hanging note, allowing its gentle nature to linger in the atmosphere, almost as if it were a lullaby for a small child. Then all at once, her and her violinist worked in silent communication as they both struck the intense, proper beginning to the piece synchronously.

In an instant, the air around the audience changed from calm and relaxing, to something that draws in attention as if a vacuum had been created on the stage. The speed and passion with which they both played rivaled any professional performance of the legendary score.

Of course, many had come before these two that had achieved a similar output of sound, but no one had come remotely close to achieving this level of output of emotion. In one moment, the song would give you goosebumps from a feeling of fear. In the next, your goosebumps would be caused by an unearthly amount of excitement and energy rushing through your veins, only to had said feelings stolen away by an ominous, overhanging, depressing vibe that could almost crush a mans soul with it's pain.

Kousei watched as Emi elegantly stroked the keys, yet at the same time was in such a panic to keep pace with the song. Her partner's arm flew with bow in hand, that bow soaring across the surface of his instrument's strings.

Then, Kousei stopped watching. He closed his eyes, and allowed the two on stage to paint a picture for him. He listened carefully, and soon he saw the musicians dancing, no dance in particular. They did not foxtrot or waltz, but instead flowed with each other, smoothly transitioning from one position to the next with grace, yet intensity nonetheless.

Soon, the boy realized what he hearing, what he was... seeing. This dance, there was no competition, no battle for dominance. Likewise, there was no submission, neither letting the other lead. He heard and saw the struggles they had both overcome in their life, perhaps accounting for that heartbreaking agony outlining the melody. He also heard and saw a connection between the two comrades, that was more than skin deep. He realized what this was, was more than a partnership of convenience due to the affinity they both held in their art. It was a side Kousei had never seen in Emi before. It was love.

He smiled. The sounds they created, that they poured from their hearts with their instruments as their medium, were the sounds of their battles in life that led them to this point. They had found each other, and now had someone to turn to for help. It was a beautiful scene.

Kousei was filled with both hope and despair all at once. If he and Kaori could simply play as if they were dancing with each other, an expression of their love for one another, he knew they could win, for certain. Their tale was practically the stuff of legends, a true fairy tale love story, that would grasp the audiences hearts for sure. But then, he felt bad. It was obvious Emi and her companion came here to win, not for themselves, but for each other. And here he was, planning to take that away.

The boy had to brace himself though. He knew Emi was strong and realistic. She came here knowing very well that she could leave with crushed dreams and a broken heart, just as Kousei himself had.

The last note of the piece played, and the picture before Kousei vanished, returning him to reality. Amidst the applause, the black-haired boy continued thinking to himself, while looking over to his love.

" _I'm sorry, everyone, really. It's not like I came here to crush your dreams. No of course, nothing of the sort. But I did come here to win. I owe it to her, to Kaori. She lived, just for me, just for this moment, for this opportunity. And I myself have had to wait years for redemption, another shot to debut internationally. This is what we've dreamed of, both of us. So because I love her, I'm going to make her dreams come true, and no one's gonna stop me. I made a promise to her, and I will keep it, no matter what. I hope you all understand."_

The next duo had already begun to perform, when the same man with a clipboard came to them, telling them it was their time to come on. Kousei smiled, and reached over to grab the girl's hand. He took it in both of his. The dress she wore was beautiful. SHE was beautiful, regardless of what she wore, because most of all, he saw her heart. And that's why he loved her so.

She looked at him, with eyes overrun with so many emotions. He could see that below her bravado, she was scared too. Leaning in just a little closer, he mustered all the strength and calm he could for her. "Ready? They've been waiting for us, you know. So let's give 'em all they've expected and more."

Her eyes shifted, a look of admiration now dominant. This, was the Kousei Arima she knew and loved. "Who's they?" She asked.

He stood back upright. "Well, everyone, of course. They've just been waiting for us to blow the competition out of the water. Now come on, slow poke, it's show time!"

* * *

Chapter 12- End

* * *

 **A/N: Well, not much to say about this one, except if you haven't heard Moonlight Sonata before, shame on you, look it up!**

 **Also, sorry uploads have been getting sporadic. I've been working on my summer English project the past few days. This ended up taking a lot longer to write than I expected, hehe. So as much as I hate to say it, you'll probably only be getting about another chapter or two in a timely manner, because school starts next week. But believe me, I'll be trying my hardest to keep things steady! Hope you enjoyed, later ^_^**


	13. Sunset

Chapter 13- Sunset

* * *

As Kousei and Kaori took the steps to enter the wing, they were met by Emi's partner, who addressed them promptly upon seeing them.

"Excuse me!" He exclaimed. "You're Arima-san and Miyazono-san, correct?" He was somewhat on the shorter side, a little shorter than Kaori, and had slightly red hair.

"Depends, who's asking?" Kousei replied, a joking look on his face.

The other boy smiled. "Right, pardon me. My name is Ryzuko Kamara, I'm the violinist that played with Emi."

"Right, we saw you out there." Kaori chimed in. "Good work by the way! That was awesome!"

He blushed slightly. "Hehe, think nothing of it..." Kamara then cleared his throat. "Anyway, Emi wanted to wish you two good luck, but she suddenly wasn't feeling very well, so she went back to her dressing room for a bit. She asked me to wish you two well for her, so... Good luck!"

Kaori and Kousei both chuckled at the boy. Kaori bowed and continued into the wing with a final thank you. Kousei walked by and gave the boy a pat on the back. "Now, go see how your lady's doing, eh?"

Kamara froze in place. "H-how do you...?"

"Buddy, with the way you two were playing, everyone with an imagination knows what's going on between you two. So, good luck to you too, hehe."

Eventually the boy loosened up, sharing a light chuckle with Kousei. "Thanks, man. You too."

They shared one final smile, and both went on their ways, Kousei in a hurry to catch up to Kaori.

* * *

"What were you and him talking about?" Kaori asked curiously as Kousei came within earshot of her somewhat hushed tone, careful to not have the current players, who were ending their piece on a soft note, hear her.

"Oh, nothing serious." He retorted. "Just guy stuff."

"Then I don't think I wanna know anymore."

Kousei laughed quietly at her somewhat childish behavior as the two on stage finished their performance and bowed to the audience. Now, it was their turn.

The two girls who just played came back into the wing, where they were congratulated on a job well done, and they wished Kousei and Kaori good luck. Just good performer etiquette.

The bespectacled pianist buttoned the bottom button on his practically signature blue blazer, and his blonde companion gave her violin one final look over. They still had a moment before they had to head out, as the judges had to decide on the scores for the previous contestants.

Finally, the man with the clipboard waved them on, then went backstage to retrieve the next couple.

Kousei and Kaori stood side by side, and gave each other once last look at each other before they began, one last moment of silent communication. Their false bravado became as real as their love for one another as they remembered why they were here. This was important, failure wasn't an option.

They finally walked out on stage, Kousei to Kaori's left. Kaori stopped just before center stage, and at that point Kousei turned to walk straight toward the piano. He quickly adjusted his seat his no more than two quick movements, already sure where the bench needed to be.

Now they were ready to begin. They both took a deep breath, and mumbled to themselves softly; "Elohim Essaim... Elohim Essaim... I implore you." Kousei still didn't know why Kaori had chanted the Hebrew word for gods, and the French word for swarm before her performance, but it seemed to bring her good fortune. Besides, it had a nice ring to it.

Kaori turned around and nodded at her pianist, and he gestured likewise. These had been some of the longest moments of his life, but he was ready. He unbuttoned his jacket, and rested his fingers on the beginning keys. Then, he pressed down and began at a slow pace, his hands moving no more than twice per measure in his improvised intro, that dared to take inspiration from the first movement of Moonlight Sonata. Kaori also added an additional note a few times, when he began his refrain on said intro.

When Kousei ended the improvised add on, he allowed the final note to hang in the air, Kaori adding a note simultaneously that added a small depth of tranquility to the air.

As her note ended, Kousei created a very short bridge created from a modification of Mozart's Requiem. This quickly built a wall of angst around the auditorium, and without delay, Kousei and Kaori began the third movement of Moonlight Sonata, transforming the angst into awe. The judges might not be so pleased about Kousei's short interlude, but it wouldn't matter by the time they were finished.

The two on stage had a bad habit of fighting for control over the performance, perhaps because they're both soloists. But now however, they seemed to work in perfect unison. No one dared to call Kousei the accompanist, he was just as essential a part to this composition as Kaori was.

* * *

"Look at them go!" Tsubaki whispered to Watari, sitting in the audience.

"Yeah, their something else alright. They may not be athletic, but I don't think I could ever do something like that. I wonder what runs through their minds at a time like this?"

Watari posed an interesting question. Tsubaki began to wonder likewise, what could they possibly be thinking about right now? There was so many indescribable feelings coming from that stage, that they couldn't be thinking purely about the song itself. Playing the song was like second nature to them at this point. What was driving them was what they were feeling inside, like they were trying to tell a story but couldn't find the words.

" _Come on then you two!"_ She thought. _"_ _Find the words! You've got this, I know you do!"_

* * *

Kaori turned her head to get a glimpse of the man behind the piano, working as hard as always, inspiring musical genius in all present. He was absolutely incredible to her. To have so many inner demons, yet the boy conquers them every time he plays the next note.

She thought of inner demons, and it dawned on her that they both were struggling with something. Their playing was impeccable, they would easily move on with just this. But that's not just why they were here, they were here to tell their story, and prove that nothing could stop them from achieving their dreams.

" _What is it then...? Why are we so mute up here? Could it be..."_

In an instant Kaori's mind flashed back to the day of her surgery, and her legs almost gave out beneath her. Her confusion gave way for fear and uncertainty. Likewise, her playing reflected such.

" _Are you ready, Kaori?" The young doctor with neatly combed, jet black hair said to the pale girl, while she was laying down on the surgical table._

" _Yeah, I think so." She replied weakly, still thinking about her parents tearful goodbyes. Everyone knew this was a death sentence, Kaori, her parents, the nurses, receptionists, doctors. She was sure Kousei expected the same. She hoped it didn't affect his performance. He was going on right about now, actually._

 _Dammit! Kaori forgot to give her parents the letter she had written. Well... hopefully they'd find it when they went to her room to get her stuff. She wasn't sure why she was doing this anymore... She wanted so badly to live, but what were the odds?_

" _Doctor..." She began. "The chances of this working... aren't very high, are they?" She said, with a small chuckle._

 _The poor girl's disposition wrenched the doctor's heart. He sat down in a chair next to her and took her hand. He gave a hefty sigh. "Little lady, I won't lie to you, the odds aren't in your favor. The sickness has spread so much, and the operation is incredibly intrusive... But, let me give you a little advice."_

 _At this, the doctor was able to muster a true, if somewhat weak, smile. Kaori's eye's lit up, for what might be the last time, in curiosity._

" _This is about that boy that came to see you every now and then, isn't it? The one with the black hair?" Kaori was confused, but nodded yes nonetheless._

" _I thought so. Well, sweetheart, you know we're gonna do everything we can on this side, but believe me when I say we aren't fighting the battle. You are. It doesn't matter what tools or technology we have, if you aren't strong enough to give us the time we need. We need you to hold on to everything you have here on Earth, hold on tight and never let it go. Hold on to him. I know he won't let you go."_

 _Kaori was beginning to tear up, feeling like quite the failure, given that the doctor just told her to be strong. Still, he squeezed her hand tighter. "I know you can do this, Kaori. If anyone can, YOU can. We're all counting on you, you know? Losing such talent would leave this world cold and gray. You've touched all our hearts in your time here. We're all rooting for ya'."_

 _Her tears stopped, and a smile graced her face. "Thank you, doctor. You might have just saved my life."_

 _A single tear ran down his cheek as the other operators entered the room. "Alright, Kaori, it's time."_

 _Kaori nodded, and adjusted her head on her pillow as someone went to place a breathing mask on her face. "Okay, I need you take a deep breath, got it?"_

 _Kaori needn't respond, but just do as she was told. Her life flashed before her life as she realized these might be her final conscious moments bound to this mortal coil. She had been so blessed in this life, she had met so many amazing people, gotten to met the man of her dreams in her last days. Her only regret was not getting a single kiss from him._

" _How unfair..." She thought to herself, as her eyelids began to fall. "...That you would just leave me here... We all need someone to kiss us goodbye..."_

 _With that... her vision faded to black._

* * *

Kousei was somewhat displeased with his performance. He couldn't tell why, but he wasn't getting anything. He could hear the music fine, but even when he tried to STOP listening, there was simply nothingness. Emptiness.

Then, Kaori's playing changed.

He was forced back to reality as a dreadful tone filled the girl's violin. He turned his head to right, and was stunned by the scene before him, almost pressing wrong note. He saw a sadness in her expression that he was all too familiar with, and seeing her standing their... he remembered the last time he had been here too well.

The ghost of her had played next to him on this very stage, as they played what he thought was their heartfelt goodbye's. He remembered what he felt in what may have been his last moments with the girl here on Earth.

Almost just as soon as Kaori's playing changed, so did Kousei's. A dark sense of hopelessness filled the room, the intensity in the piece they composed anything but uplifting. Instead, it was a panic to find the words that needed to be said before it was too late. It was a failing attempt at reaching out and seizing something that was no longer there.

The phantom of Kaori was suddenly all Kousei could see as he was dragged back by his nightmares that haunted him every night. The fear of what could have been, of what reality was so dangerously close to being brought to fruition. His heart sank several fathoms into a deep, dark ocean that engulfed him, one he hadn't felt in oh so long.

In stark contrast to his previous condition, now all he could do was hear the notes he played on his instrument. No matter how hard he tried to tune them out, no matter how hard he tried to silence his emotions, he just couldn't. The piano was more than just a device to create music, it was an extension of who the boy was. It refused to allow Kousei to forget, it forced him to face his fears.

He looked once more to the figure of Kaori, the ever fading specter of something so dear to him. But it was different. He remembered on that day, she had tried to be strong for him, tried to calm his nerves. Though in those last moments she did shed tears, the smile on her face remained true. Now though, she looked distraught. She was losing hope, and she needed his help. It wasn't like her, but after all that she's been through, Kousei would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. Truth be told, he did, but she brought him back to life.

More importantly than winning, more importantly than sharing their story, he needed to be their for her now. So he would be. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to tear his vision away from her, making himself understand than she would still be there when he reopened them. He quietly took a deep breath, and tried to collect himself as a slower part of the score arrived.

Kousei grasped for control over himself, but he was still drowning in his own little sea of fear. The sheer possibility of losing her still haunted him so. Then, something bizarre happened. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and he heard a familiar voice. The same voice that had come to him, that told him Kaori was okay.

" _Kaori...?"_ He thought, as he turned his head slightly to the left to eye the space next to him. To his surprise, it was not Kaori. It was his mother.

It wasn't the sick, twisted mirage of his mother that haunted him for years, however. She was walking, and smiling, and it was suddenly as if Kousei was a very young child again.

His mother's warm smile brought him memories of better times. She needn't say any words to him, the encouraging look in her eyes was all that was required. His mother was a part of him, and even though the cruel memory of her clouded his mind sometimes, she was always rooting for him.

Light began to pierce the darkness that enveloped him, a light a gave him salvation from these new inner demon's that he felt trapped by. A smile touched the edge of his lips. _"Thank you, mom. Guess you still know what's best for me after all."_ He felt calmed, and more in control. He looked over to the right, to see the faded image of the girl he loved still ever present, dominated by his memories.

Something was different about the air, however. She wasn't leaving him any time soon, they were playing together, here on this stage, creating their own symphony. The domitable part of the score was coming to an end, and he decided this is where he would inspire a change in the two of them.

On the very note the speed and intensity were designed to pick up, Kousei did something Kaori did not expect. He raised the key of the song, and played in a much different way. Her confusion was so great she almost had to stop and ask what he was doing. But at the same time, in but a split second she heard what he was telling her. He wasn't playing for the audience anymore. He was playing for her. He had seen the doubt in her eyes, and the fear, and it broke his heart. But for her, he got a grip, and reminded her that they were here now, together, and that's all that mattered.

Almost as quickly as Kousei, Kaori tuned her playing to a higher key, and they were only out of sync for but a second. Now the message they portrayed was different. Now they shouted out that they were each other's, They played in harmony, and and told how they had overcome all odds for each other, and they were happy together. They told everyone listening why they were here, and where they were going.

Three minutes later, the piece finally ended, and for a few moments, there was silence. Then, as Kousei took his spot next to Kaori to take a bow, the audience erupted in applause and standing ovations. They did it. As Kaori would put it, they had reached them.

* * *

Kousei and Kaori went backstage, and waited for the last two to come on and try to compete, but they were proud enough of their performance to say that they doubted anyone else could compete. When the judges finished scoring everyone, they announced that the preliminaries were over, and that scores would be posted outside immediately. So of course, the two ran out to the lobby the second they heard of it.

Kousei and Kaori skipped right over the results bracket for the preliminary round today, and instead went straight for the overall results. They were blown back by what they found.

In total, 28 people had advanced. In third, was Emi and Kamara. In second, Takeshi and his partner that they weren't familiar with. And... in first place... There was a tie. Kousei and Kaori, along with Yazuki and his partner named Kana, had tied for first place. Not only that, but they also tied for audience favorite.

Kousei was stunned. He had only ever seen one incident like this ever before, and it was when he was much younger. As a matter of fact, he had indeed tied for first and audience favorite with none other than Takeshi himself, if he remembered correctly.

The couple's awe was broken by their friends running over from the day three bracket, full of cheer. They had obviously only seen that Kousei and Kaori were the first place finishers and the audience favorite today, and hadn't gotten a chance to see the extenuating circumstances they found themselves in.

Tsubaki ran up to the two in practically a frenzy. "Aha! I knew you guy's could do it, I'm so proud of you!"

Watari was right behind her. "You know me, I slept through most of the gig, but I couldn't have slept through you two if I tried. You almost touched my heart." He joked.

"Almost?" Kousei smiled at them brunette boy.

"Hehe, almost. Don't push it, Arima." Tsubaki elbowed him in the side at this.

Hiroko, Nagi, and Nao walked up shortly after.

Nagi was the first to say something. "Arima-sensei, you did awesome! I knew you would!" She exclaimed, more animated than usual.

"You did well too, Miyazono-san." Nao added, a smile actually gracing her face, for once.

Hiroko loomed over, standing behind them. "You both should be proud of yourselves. That was one of the best performances I've heard in a long time. I think other's thought the same, considering the people next to me started crying, hehe." Little did Kousei and Kaori know, that one of those people was Nagi. "You should be especially proud, Kaori, considering how soon this is after your surgery." She added with a gleaming look in her eye, as if she were looking at her own daughter.

Kaori blushed slightly, and bowed. "Thank you very much, Seto-sama!"

Hiroko giggled at her slight bashfulness. "Just call me Hiroko, sweetie. Still feel's weird being called Seto-sama. I'm not old just yet, right?" All present remained silent, besides a few chuckles from Kousei and Watari

"Right!?" Hiroko repeated, suddenly more serious than before. This caused everyone else to bust out in a fit of laughter, to Hiroko's dismay. She just crossed her arms and frowned. "Fine, be that way."

Kousei, Watari, Tsubaki and Kaori all stood in close proximity to each other, laughing like the good old days. Suddenly, Kousei pulled them all into a group hug, having to reach around Tsubaki to grab Watari as well.

"I love you guys!" The boy exclaimed, in a scene of affection that was unusual for him. Of course, the first to respond to this was Watari.

"Love you too, Kou-Kou!"

The underlying bromance once again caused everyone to give a hearty laugh, and even made a somewhat depressed Hiroko giggle.

Kousei once again saw his mother appear from behind Hiroko. She was laughing right along with them. All he could do was tuck his head back into his group and be happy, just as she would wish for him.

" _You messed up sometimes mom, we both know that. But you always wanted what was best for me, and right now, I'm on top of the world. Maybe I'll never understand the method to your madness, but you're a miracle worker. I couldn't be here right now if things hadn't played out just so. Thank you so much. Please don't feel guilty. Consider yourself forgiven for the times you were mean, I know that wasn't you. I'm sorry you had to leave here with such cruel last thoughts of me, the thing's I said. I hope I'm making up for it now"_

* * *

The prelims ended around 5 o'clock, so everyone went out to celebrate since this was a bigger event than there normal performances. Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways.

Tsubaki was tired, so she went home early, followed by Nao, while Watari went to go play soccer with some of his friends. Nagi also had to go home, to let Takeshi know that Kousei had moved on. Hiroko had to go pick up Koharu from a play date, so that left Kousei and Kaori on their own for now.

They hadn't really spent much time with each other today, as they were busy mingling with everyone else, considering they hadn't had much of a chance to recently. But now, they wanted to just relax together for a while. Kousei had an idea of what they could do.

He got out his bike that he still rarely used, and had Kaori ride on the back. Eventually, they made their way down to what looked to be nothing more than woods. They got off the bike, and Kousei propped it up against a tree.

"Where are we exactly?" Kaori asked.

"You'll see." Kousei replied, sounding excited. "This was me and Tsubaki's favorite place to go when we were kids, besides the beach."

Kaori reluctantly trudged on, not sure why Kousei of all people would enjoy being out here. Just a few minutes of walking passed however, and she ate her words.

They had followed a very narrow path through the brush, probably created more by people walking through it than the land being kept. When they reached the end, they were greeted by a beautiful sight. They stood on a flat near a cliff, and off said cliff was a beautiful view of the ocean, even better than what you could find at the beach.

"Wow, Kousei, this is..."

"Stunning? Charming? Beautiful?" Kousei returned, somewhat smugly.

"And all the other words for it! It's breathtaking! How have I never found this before?"

"Eh, most people don't find the small things nature has to offer. Sometimes you've just gotta let it take the wheel and guide you." Kousei smirked. "That, or have a friend named Tsubaki that finds places like this all the time."

Kaori giggled at him as he took a seat on the cliff. He patted the ground next to him, and she did likewise. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her closer with an arm around her waist. They sat in silence for some time, simply watching the sunset.

After a while, Kousei gave a long sigh, and took Kaori's hand in his. She looked at him, expecting bad news by his tone and posture, which scared her. Fortunately, it wasn't bad news at all. Just something he needed off his chest.

"Kaori, I..." He was forced to stop by a lump in his throat, causing more concern for the girl. "You know, ever since you came out of the hospital, since I knew everything would be okay, something's just been... eating at me. I guess maybe I was stuck on the thought that things weren't gonna be okay, that this was too good to be true. Or maybe I just couldn't get past the fear of losing you."

He had to stop once more, so she took the opportunity to speak as well. "You're not alone you know. I've been scared too. I keep having nightmares of the operation. I mean... what if things had gone wrong, you know?"

"I think we both realized that things are different than that today, didn't we?" He said, in a hoarse voice, getting choked up.

Tears began swelling in Kaori's eye's at the sight of Kousei so upset. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kousei finally broke down crying and buried his face in Kaori's shoulder, pulling her into a tighter embrace. "Kaori! God, Kaori I'm so glad you're here! I don't know what I'd do without you! I can't lose someone so important to me again!"

Kaori began to softly cry too, but contained it as best she could, trying to be strong for the boy in this moment of weakness. "Don't worry, Kousei... I'm not going anywhere. I promise you that. I need you just as much as you need me you know..."

A few long moments passed and Kousei had collected himself somewhat. He sat up straight and looked at Kaori, once again taking her hand. "I love you so much, Kaori. You've brought so much happiness into my life. I didn't think I could be happy anymore, but you proved me wrong, and I'm grateful."

Kaori smiled sadly. "We know our lives aren't perfect, though. And after the life you've had, all I want is for you to be happy. Promise me this. Promise that no matter what happens to me, whether I have to go somewhere far away, or I die in some freak accident, or anything where I can't be with you, you'll still try and be happy."

"Kaori, don't say something like that! That can't be-"

"Promise me. Please..."

Kousei took a deep breath, and looked at her with honest, if somewhat sad eyes. "I promise."

Kaori smiled a brighter smile, and reached over to hug Kousei, which he quickly turned into loving kiss. This surprised the girl, but she in no way rejected it.

They stayed this way for several minutes, until they heard a rustling in the bush behind them. They both turned to see a black cat watching them. It's eye's glowed orange from the reflected sunset over the horizon.

They both smiled and turned there attention back to the falling sun. In their eyes, the only thing that matched the beauty of such an image, was the other.

* * *

Chapter 13- End

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this one was a big fat stack of trail and error. To be fair though, it's almost twice as long as a normal chapter, so I think you can forgive me, eh?**

 **Anyway, it seems we've lucked out. My school schedule this semester consists of Advanced Automotive Engineering, Biomedical Engineering III, Weightlifting, and JROTC, so it seems I won't have THAT much tangible homework. I know, sounds crazy, but none of these classes really give any homework (Except JROTC). So, I should still have plenty of time to write. Yay!**

 **Also, sorry again for the late-ish chapter. Though I think this time frame is becoming more standard now honestly. Let's be fair though, it's better than most people on this site * Puts on shades ***

 **Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time. Later ^_^**


	14. Farewell, Dignity

**A/N: Okay this one is coming _before_ the the chapter (way to mix it up Conman), because we need to talk real shit. That real shit is the irony of my last Author's Note, given that I immediately fell off the face of the earth. I'm my own person, I have my reasons for not writing in so long, but I have no excuse for just dropping off without so much as a word. Sorry for that guys. Truth be told I was also losing passion for the writing and I didn't want to write unless I felt I could do my very best.**

 **Now it's been a while (little over a year to be exact) and I've aged a little, gotten a little more experience, and I've even submitted some poems to a few contests. I feel more confident in my writing now, and looking over the chapters I can see without question the flaw I was making with Kousei's character. I play the piano too and honestly relate to a lot of his struggles, so I may have been inadvertently projecting myself onto him, leading to him being more direct and gruff. This isn't what I wanted at all but I didn't even realize I was doing it.**

 **I'm going to try and fix that from now on (don't worry, I'm not just gonna do a total character shift on you) and get him a little more in character, or at least address the out of character-ness. I don't feel like I've done to bad with anyone else, but right now that brings me to the last thing I wanted to mention. It's now been over two years since I've actually watched YLIA, so the character traits to their finest details... I've kinda lost those. From here on I'll need you to bear with me, but I'm gonna do my best, and we're gonna finish this. I expect that we'll finish up around chapter 20-25, somewhere in there (because even after all this time I remember how I wanted to end this, and honestly still think it's a unique thing to do). Also if I make any continuity errors (they'll likely be small anyway), just consider it the new canon of this story. It'll be like, oh I said it's Tuesday today but it should actually be Friday. Stuff like that, no biggie.**

 **Okay, whew. Long ass author's note. Not doing that again. Anyway, even though I've gotten better this is my first time writing in this format in a while, so take it easy on this chapter. This can be pretty open though story wise, so we've got some wiggle room. It'll be kinda short, but I need a Segway to get back into it. Hope you enjoy nonetheless! Later ^_^**

* * *

Chapter 14 – Farewell, Dignity

* * *

Now that the preliminaries were over, Kousei and Kaori had some downtime before they had to start practicing for the national competition. Just as well, the set piece for the contest probably wouldn't be announced for another week anyway. Of course there would always be time to play lighter pieces for fun (and to keep up on form), but for now, the couple just wanted to rest.

The couple competed on Friday, so they spent all of Saturday at home resting, while Tsubaki and Watari both had practice for their respective sports. Pretty much all communication between the party of four was done through text, except when Tsubaki got home and spoke to Kousei through his window.

* * *

Tsubaki closed the door to her room and breathed a sigh of relief to be home for the day. She set her bag down and changed into more comfortable clothes. Knowing that Kousei was home and alone for the first time in what felt like forever, she was feeling excited to talk to him. She wasn't sure why, but she felt surprisingly comfortable about it all. She had felt sort of awkward around him for some time now, but right now everything felt fine. She intended to capitalize on the normality she was feeling and just shoot the breeze with her childhood friend like she used to.

Tsubaki sat down on her bed and opened her window. She was expecting to have to text Kousei to come to his window, but to her surprise, he was at his window waiting for her. Her expression brightened more, until she saw the seeming half smile on the boy's face. Was something wrong? If so it wasn't anything serious, because he tended to seclude himself when he was upset. He didn't like talking about his problems.

Maybe he was just tired. That was probably all, she thought. Recently things had been going surprisingly well for him, so to her knowledge there wasn't any reason for him to be vexed by anything.

* * *

Kousei saw Tsubaki walk into her house in her softball uniform. He had been listening to music for a little while, along side texting Kaori. She must've been real tired though, because she kept dozing off for short spurts throughout the morning.

It was a little past noon now, and while he had just a few minutes ago he had felt hungry enough to eat lunch, seeing Tsubaki made him lose a bit of his appetite for some reason. It didn't take much thought to figure out what was bothering him.

" _Nah, I don't think it went anywhere."_

" _If you say so..."_

He remembered Tsubaki and Watari's exchange for the preliminaries. Something about it seemed... peculiar. It seemed Kaori may have had her own ideas, but that didn't surprise him. She hadn't known them all her life. Tsubaki scarcely tolerated Watari's frivolous behavior on a good day. The notion that they could be interested in each other seemed... something wasn't right about it.

He decided to stay at his window and wait for her to get situated. As he expected, she opened her window, somewhat to his dismay, looking surprised.

* * *

"Howdy, champion!" Tsubaki began gleefully. Even though she looked tired, she still sounded estatic.

"Hey, Tsubaki." Kousei replied, almost halfheartedly.

"What are you doing looking out your window?" She asked. "I haven't ever known you to be the fresh air type."

"Oh, right. I, uh, well I saw you walking home and figured you'd come to the window anyway, so I figured I'd get a head start."

"You've been laying in bed all day haven't you? Even if you're tired that's not good for you, you know!" She scolded him in motherly voice, probably not being as serious as she sounded.

Kousei chuckled. "Yes ma'am, my fault."

Despite his concerns, Tsubaki was still the same, carefree girl she'd always been. Well, carefree until her friends came into the picture. He was considering asking her about what her and Watari had been doing, but he decided now probably wasn't the time. Besides the odd thoughts in the back of his head, things felt unusually normal. It would be smart to not bring up the two's changing relationship, as that was anything but.

"If it helps, I haven't touched my piano today, so I'm at least getting plenty rested." He added.

"You? Taking care of yourself? That's a first." She joked. Her concerns dissipated as Kousei's expression returned to normal.

Kousei laughed and gave a slight sigh. "Well fine then, what would you have me do to 'take care of myself'?"

Tsubaki smiled and leaned back in thought. Suddenly she perked up as if a light bulb lit above her head.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "Everyone's schedule is free tomorrow right?"

"As far as I know."

"Perfect! Then how about we go to the park and play a game of soccer?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Funny. Next you'll put me and Kaori on the same team so you can murder us." He retorted dryly.

"Oh come onnnn. It'll be fun, I promise! It'll be a good way to get out of the house, plus we can all hang out for the first time in weeks. It's a perfect plan!"

"Well... maybe..." He conceded. "But even if you can convince me, that doesn't mean you can convince Kaori."

She snickered. "Oh I won't need to. You can do that. She'll surely listen if you ask her."

Kousei's eyes widened. "That's devious and you know it, Tsubaki. Besides you've got the wrong idea of who wear's the pants in this relationship."

At this Tsubaki doubled over laughing. "Haha, Kousei, you-Haha!" She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Kousei himself was kind of surprised by his own honesty. She probably hadn't fully understood what he meant though. No one was really in charge in their relationship, but as it were, Kaori had Kousei wrapped around his finger and he knew it.

He stuttered, realizing he hadn't accurately made his point. "C-cut it out, will ya'? You know what I mean."

Tsubaki took another second to get her giggles out before she replied. "Yeah, yeah, but that was totally the wrong way to put it. It doesn't matter anyway, she'll listen to you."

Kousei still wasn't convinced.

Tsubaki considered simply telling him to not invite Kaori, but not only would he probably not go without Kaori, she'd feel bad just ditching her, even if she was eating up all of Kousei's attention.

She grunted, then mustered the best puppy dog eyes she could. "Pleeeeeease? For me?"

Kousei still had his doubts, but it seemed like Tsubaki really wanted this to happen. Finally, he capitulated.

"Ugh... Fine, you win. I'll talk to her."

Tsubaki sat straight up and cheered. "Yay! Alright, you do that, I'll call Watari and tell him to come along too! We'll need four players for it to work."

Kousei laughed at her childishness. "I mean four is still a pretty slim number don't you think?"

"We can make it work. Most importantly it needs to be even."

"Alright, alright. Go on ahead then, I'll talk to you later." He sighed.

"Mmm hmm, can do!" She replied enthusiastically before closing her window and picking up her phone.

Kousei proceeded to do the same, electing to call Kaori instead of text her in case she had fallen back asleep. He didn't want to disturb her, but if she was still sleeping, she needed to get up anyway.

As the dialed he wondered to himself;

" _Ugh, why did it have to be this? Soccer, of all things. I'm gonna make a fool out of myself. I'm gonna get my ass kicked! Well... so much for taking this weekend to rest."_

* * *

Chapter 14- End


	15. The Wrong Way To Play

Chapter 15- The Wrong Way To Play

* * *

After his exchange with Tsubaki, Kousei sat back and wondered what he could say to convince Kaori to join him and everyone else in the park the following day. He certainly wasn't looking forward to this, but it seemed like Tsubaki was really looking forward to this for whatever reason, and after the past few weeks he felt he owed her this much.

He had figured that since Kaori was so tired it may take some convincing, but she actually went along with it all on her own. It sounded like she was looking forward to hanging out with everyone again too.

It was so weird to him how even though him, Tsubaki and Watari had been friends pretty much their whole lives, she managed to slip in and be as crucial a part of their group as anyone else. Well, that was just the kind of personality she had, he thought. Her happiness is completely infectious.

He decided to go ahead and go to sleep so he'd be well rested for tomorrow. As he dozed off, he wondered why Tsubaki chose soccer of all things. Sure, it didn't require any equipment, but there are other sports that she's better at they could have played, like basketball.

" _Actually, on second thought... thank god it's not basketball..."_ He thought as he drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Kousei awoke to a clanking sound on his window that, in his still drowsy state, almost sounded like rain. This thought invigorated him, as maybe he'd get out of going to the park. He quickly sat up to move his curtain and check, only to find it to be bright and sunny. The sound was Tsubaki tapping on his window with her softball bat. He sighed in disappointment and opened his curtains and window fully.

"Morning." He said to his neighbor, making no attempt to hide his fleeting enthusiasm.

He was confused when the only response he got was Tsubaki widening her eyes and turning cherry red. He almost asked what was the matter when he realized exactly what it was. He turned a near equal shade of red.

He wasn't wearing a shirt.

"You stupid pervert!" She shouted, loud enough for anyone on the street to hear. "Don't you know you have a girlfriend!? Put a shirt on!" She found the nearest item, which happened to be a hardcover book, and threw it at him as he scrambled out of sight.

As he jumped out of his bed he found the T-shirt he usually slept in on the ground next to it. Confused, he retraced his steps as he was berated with further insults by Tsubaki. As his grogginess from waking up dissipated, he realize the ease with which he opened his window to answer the knock on the glass. Either he hadn't shut it fully or it had come ajar in the night. Whichever one, it had made it very hot in his room, as the first warm days of Spring were setting in. He determined he must've taken it off in the night to cool off without realizing it.

Kousei put his shirt on and apologized to Tsubaki, trying to explain what happened. After a few moments she calmed down, but still seemed quite flustered. This shouldn't have been such a scene, but knowing that Tsubaki had feelings for him just made it awkward.

"Anyway you moron," she began, "do you see what time it is?"

He looked over at his clock. He had slept till past 10:00 AM. Late by his normal standards, it wouldn't normally be a problem given that it was the weekend. However, after looking Tsubaki over, he saw that she was fully dressed.

"Wait," he started, still somewhat tired-sounding, "what time are we all meeting?"

"11:00." She returned dryly, an irritated expression on her face.

Kousei was now plainly aware of the problem. It was nearly 10:20 and the park was about a half hour walk. He jolted to sudden alertness and entered a panic to get ready. The last thing he wanted was to give Kaori a reason to kick his ass. As the record shows, she'd have no problem doing so.

He closed the window without so much as another word, knowing Tsubaki would understand, and hurried to the shower.

* * *

As he finished and got out to dry and quickly dressed, he noticed something he hadn't before now, presumably because all he had been thinking about for the past few weeks was music. Looking his body over he noticed he had gained a noticeable amount of muscle definition. He certainly didn't look athletic, but it was an improvement over the uniform board body he was used to seeing in the mirror.

"So this is puberty, huh." He said to himself. "You'd think with all the meals I skipped last month I'd look skinnier than ever."

Putting that aside, he rushed to get dressed in the only athletic clothes he had, which happened to be his gym shirt and basketball shorts, and rushed out the door. He was hungry but didn't have any time for breakfast.

* * *

As he got outside, he saw Tsubaki already waiting at her door. He bowed to her and apologized, to which she lightly chopped him on the head, seemingly still irritated, but returning to her good mood from the night before.

"You better take this seriously." She said. "If you don't, you'll just get embarrassed in front of your girlfriend."

It wasn't like Kaori expected him to have any kind of athletic ability. Right? After all, she wasn't particularly active, although arguably more so than he was.

"I know, I know, but right now can we just focus on getting there on time?" He asked.

"Well, we're cutting it close, no thanks to you. We won't make it walking, but we can take my bike." She already had it prepared.

He gulped. "Is this gonna go like last time where I get tossed off at the end?"

"If it does, just remember it's your fault, not mine." She smirked.

He groaned, but without much choice in the matter, got on the back of the seat behind Tsubaki.

* * *

Blessedly, the trip to the park was one without incident. Both Kousei and his dignity (what was left of it anyway) made it in one piece. They were five minutes late because of a small traffic jam that delayed them from crossing the street at one point, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it could've been.

When they reached the small soccer field in the park, which was designed to accommodate smaller groups of people, they saw Watari and Kaori chatting on the bench on the sidelines. They jogged down the slight hill the field sat beneath to meet them.

Thankfully, Kaori didn't scold Kousei for his slight tardiness, or worse. To his dismay however, Tsubaki smugly informed Kaori of the incident this morning, presumably so she'd yell at him. She got her wish and more

"You dummy! What were you thinking!? Pervert!" She yelled as she smacked Kousei squarely across the face. At this point he was used to it, but he almost sure he'd get away free this morning. Despite his stinging cheek, he bowed and apologized.

Watari laughed. "Heh, I'd probably knock you one to for the hell of it, but the last time I got big with you ya' kicked my ass."

Kousei was suddenly very uncomfortable, both with the nonchalantness of Watari's statement and also the memory of that day on the roof of the hospital. He felt sick thinking about what an ass he'd been for nearly no reason, especially given that, even though he hated to admit it, he had been in the wrong. He had no clue what in the world had possessed him.

Such a thing and never happened the before, but... he did recall feeling similarly at the cafe with Yazuki. The thought disturbed him. He didn't want to be that kind of person, why had he been acting like it, and why did it seem everyone else was just willing to let it go? He wasn't being himself at all. In mere seconds he found himself in a dilemma, one he resolved to put off until later.

"Right, hehe..." He chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't count on that again."

Kaori was reminded of the scene she barged into on top of the hospital and felt a little uneasy. However, Watari hadn't seemed resentful in his tone, so she let it go. Tsubaki did the same.

"Come on guys, let's get started already!" Kaori stated with energy, ready to change the subject and get to the game.

* * *

"Alright, first we gotta decide teams." Watari said.

"Me and you definitely shouldn't be on the same team, Watari." Returned Tsubaki

"R-Right. Yeah, that makes sense. That wouldn't be fair." He replied, sounding vaguely disappointed.

While the matter of teams was being settled, Kousei couldn't help but notice that he wasn't quite dressed for the occasion. Everyone was wearing attire more fitting soccer except for him, who was wearing basketball shorts and a heavy T-shirt. In particular, he noticed what Kaori was wearing.

He cursed himself for his thoughts, but he couldn't help himself. She really was beautiful, and while her clothing wasn't really revealing, it was less conservative than what she normally wore, and her shorts were nearly skin tight.

"That sound alright, Kousei?" Tsubaki asked.

Kousei realized he hadn't been paying attention and made an effort to play it off.

"U-Uh, yeah, that sounds fine."

By the looks on everyone's faces it seemed his gamble paid off.

"Alright, then team A will be you and me, and team B will be Watari and Kaori!" She decreed.

"Hey, why are we team B?" Watari asked. "We're no B-team, we're gonna rock!"

"Yeah, you wish. We're gonna kick you butt!" Tsubaki returned, getting into the spirit.

Kousei just thought to himself, dismissing the ensuing trash talk.

" _Great, up against Watari and Kaori. One's gonna make a fool out of me while the other distracts me, and at this rate I don't know which one'll do which!"_

* * *

After some stretching and planning by each team, the match finally got underway. By order of a coin toss, team B got the ball first. Watari sat on his side of the field juggling the ball like a hacky sack, daring Tsubaki or Kousei to come take it. Seeing as Tsubaki was the more athletic of the two, they decided that she'd play offense and Kousei play defense, likely similar justification to the plan Watari had devised.

Tsubaki ran straight for Watari, probably planning to headbutt the ball out of Watari's reach. It didn't matter though, because just before she reached him he whacked the ball particularly hard, sending it over his head toward Kaori behind him. It bounced and rolled toward her as the two athletes separated, Tsubaki running to the ball trying to reach it before Kaori, and Watari heading for team A's net.

Kaori reached the ball and kicked it with staggering accuracy. The power was somewhat less impressive but it didn't need to be, given the diminished size of the field. It arced directly around Tsubaki right into Watari's reach, stunning both Tsubaki and Kousei. Watari wasted no time taking a shot on the goal. Kousei attempted to stop it, but ended up taking the ball directly to the face. It then bounced into the goal anyway.

Expecting to be yelled at by Tsubaki, he sat up and shook off the impact, his nose still stinging. To his surprise, she was too busy praising Kaori. Watari then walked up and offered a hand to the boy.

"Thanks..." He said, taking the extended hand, still reeling from the power of Watari's kick. "Did you know she could play like that?"

He chuckled. "Well, I may have taught her a thing or two, you know."

Kousei groaned, realizing he was in trouble. "Just... take it easy, eh? I don't want to look like a total loser."

"Hehe, don't worry man, I've got you." Watari surprised himself at how easily he was able to surrender himself to helping Kousei look good for Kaori.

The score limit they had agreed on was 10 goals, seeing as they'd happen more frequently than in full size games, where average scores for the winning team ranged from three to six goals. The game continued in a slightly more balanced fashion as both teams approached that limit, seeing as Watari stopped trying. Kaori even managed to go on the offensive and score two goals.

After about 25 minutes the scores were 7-9 in favor of team B.

"Sorry guys, but let's go ahead and wrap this up!" Watari exclaimed.

He had the ball and, ignoring Kaori's presence, took the ball straight down the field. As Tsubaki approached him, he slowed down and squared the ball, sending it in between her legs as he went around her, completely halting her resistance.

"Kousei, stop him!" Tsubaki shouted.

"Yeah! Go Watari-san!" Kaori cheered.

This was his chance to be useful. Kousei had to stop him here. He knew he wouldn't be faster than Watari, if he ran at him, he'd just get squared like Tsubaki had. Instead he approached slower, feigning being tired, which for some reason he wasn't.

" _Focus Kousei, focus! He won't expect you to come at him full force all of a sudden. Knowing him, he'll try to cut left... NOW!"_

Predicting his actions after observing him all game, Kousei suddenly jerked his course to the left at full speed to intercept Watari. The suddenness of his movements made Watari slip slightly. As opposed to surrender the ball however, he preformed a rainbow kick with perfect form to get it in the air so he'd have time to recover.

Kousei knew this was his only chance. He waited for the ball to come down. Once it was just above head level, he practically back flipped in an attempt to kick the ball before it hit the ground.

Though he wound up on his back, his foot connected, and with surprising force at that. He sent the ball flying straight through the air toward team B's goal.

"Woah!" Exclaimed Tsubaki.

"What the hell!? Kaori!" Shouted Watari.

"Ah! I've got it!" Kaori shouted back.

As it were, she was too far away to make it in time. Though it nearly missed, the ball soared into the goal, bringing the score to 8-9.

Kousei got up immediately and cheered. "YEAH! I did it!" He shouted with arms raised high.

"Kousei, why have you been holding out on me?" Tsubaki asked, almost sounding irritated, but relieved that Watari didn't score.

"Dude, that was freaking awesome! Do that more often." Watari chimed in.

Kaori ran over and tackled Kousei in a hug. "Kousei, you're amazing! I could have never gotten there in time to stop it!" She cheered.

Kousei was taken aback by the sudden affection, and looked over his shoulder at Watari, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Hehe, well, you know. Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day." He humbly returned, a wide grin on his face.

* * *

Kousei leaned on the wall of the small restroom at the base of the hill dejectedly.

"Ugh! I can't believe we lost after all that!" He said.

Tsubaki laughed, still surprisingly chipper despite her competitive nature.

"Cheer up, it's not that bad. Given that we were up against two decent players, we did really good! Especially you, that steal from Watari was really impressive." She stopped for a moment.

"You know, I say two decent players, but Watari's a lot more than decent. He's amazing. That makes what you did even more impressive!" She finished with a smile.

Kousei appreciated the gesture, but her praise for Watari, even though completely warranted, still made his stomach churn slightly. The small bathroom on the hill had a male and female side, both accommodating only one occupant at a time. Since Watari and Kaori won, they were allowed to go in and clean up first. This left the two defeated alone. Because of this, Kousei gave into his curiosity.

* * *

Watari stood at the sink, washing his sweat drenched face with cool water from the tap. After he finished he grabbed a few paper towels from a roll lazily placed on a shelf too close to sink to ensure they wouldn't get splashed and dried himself off.

He went to step outside when, through the door, he heard Tsubaki praising his athletic talent, and decided to stop and listen for just a second. While he didn't like the idea of eavesdropping, this wasn't particularly serious conversation, and he could always go for a slight stroke of the ego. After a minute or so however, the topic of conversation changed between Kousei and Tsubaki.

"Say, Tsubaki... you and Watari have gotten awfully close, haven't you? Kousei asked, sounding conflicted.

" _Huh, what's this about?"_ He thought to himself. _"Maybe I should stop listening and head out. But... I don't want to just interrupt them either."_

Going against what may have been his better judgment, he decided to stay by the door. He tried his best to not listen in, but ultimately failed miserably.

"Hm? I mean, I guess you could say that." The brunette girl replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... I don't know, but I feel like it has something to do with me and Kaori."

Tsubaki looked confused. "Huh, what do you mean? You sure you aren't having a heat stroke or something?"

Kousei chuckled. "No, I mean... well, do you remember a little bit before my birthday, how you and Watari tried to make me and Kaori jealous?"

"Oh, so that's what this is about." She grumbled.

He jumped a little. "N-No, not exactly. Believe me, I'm past that. It's just, well, I mean obviously you two pretended to be dating, but that wasn't fooling anyone. Even Kaori knew that kiss in the mall was fake." He stopped for a breath then continued.

"But, it feels like since then, you two kind of have... I don't know..." It seemed Kousei didn't know where to go next.

Tsubaki laughed just a touch. "Oh man, Kousei, are you actually jealous? How can you call yourself a man if you get jealous over nothing?" She asked.

"No, I'm not! And I guess it doesn't... look like nothing." He stammered.

" _Where is he going with this?"_ Watari wondered.

Kousei carried on. "Honestly, it looks like you two may actually be a thing, and something about it just bothers me."

Tsubaki chuckled again. "That sounds like jealously to me Kousei, but I'll take your word for it. Anyway, no, you've got it wrong, me and Watari really aren't a thing."

Watari felt a slight knot in his stomach. _"Well, yeah. No denying that. But still, it doesn't mean we couldn't be..."_ Lately it'd simply become a fact of life that he'd developed feelings for her, but sometimes the way she acted made him think she might feel the same. It that regard, he couldn't blame Kousei for his questions. His hope that he could eventually make some advance on Tsubaki caused him to listen in particularly close to this part.

"Well I guess I figured that much. You wouldn't really have a reason to hide it." Kousei replied. "But it definitely looks like you have feelings for each other. I know this is kind of an invasive question, but... do you?"

" _Yes! Atta' boy, Kousei. This is what I needed to hear."_

Tsubaki sighed. "Well, to tell you the truth, and don't tell him I said this, but I'm pretty sure Watari does for me. Maybe it's just because he got sent reeling after breaking up with Kaori and he needed a rebound."

" _Wha- She knows? Well damn. It doesn't matter though, she's got the wrong idea. I'm not gonna say I love her or anything, but she isn't just some rebound..."_

"Oh, that so?" Kousei asked.

"Yeah, but also remember this is Watari we're talking about. He like everything in a skirt."

" _No, Tsubaki really, this isn't like that. Not at all."_

Kousei breathed. "Okay, well... then what about you?"

Watari listened intently, his heart poised to break out of his chest from its rapid beating. He leaned heavier against the wall as his arms and knees growing weaker threatened to make him fall.

"Well... look at it like this. Sure, he's a pervert and a dummy, but he really is sweet and charming when he wants to be. But... in the end, he's just Watari. I'm glad we're better friends now and all, but..." She stopped for a moment. "Maybe I did what I accused him of and had him as sorta a rebound for a bit. But if that's the case it was only slightly so. He's a good guy, but I could never date him. I just don't see him th-"

"Okay Tsubaki-san, your turn!" Kaori came out of the restroom, interrupting their conversation. But it didn't matter. Watari had already heard all he needed to hear.

His heart broke on the spot.

* * *

Chapter 15- End

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, that was an extra long chapter. But I definitely had to make up for last chapter being a stub. I really just needed something as a springboard back into this, and that was last chapter. Sure there wasn't much substance, but I think I made up for that here, eh?**

 **I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed writing this chapter, even though it took me about 4 hours to write. I'm sure it only took you about 10 minutes to read though, what a disparity. I also feel like I did a damn good job with this one, I'm proud of it. I hope you are too :)**

 **Anyway, yeah. I don't know how often I'll be uploading for sure, but it'll be frequently enough. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I really hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing, and I'll see you next time. Later ^_^**


	16. April Showers

Chapter 16- April Showers

* * *

Watari plopped down face first onto his bed dejectedly. The evening had already set in by the time he got home, and rain was beginning to come down in the darkness. The environment complemented his mood perfectly, especially given that he had to walk home without an umbrella as the rain was picking up.

After the soccer match, the group decided on various other activities to do as the day aged, even dropping by the arcade at one point. None of them were particularly skillful in any of the games offered, but of them Tsubaki was by far the best.

Despite his aching heart (and pride), Watari had done a good job keeping up the act of being happy. At some points he did manage to enjoy himself a little, but it usually didn't last long.

" _Ugh..."_ He groaned internally. _"I'm getting my bed wet laying on without drying off, but fuck it. I'm not going to bed right now, it'll dry off."_

As he thought that, he realized that he actually kind of did want to go to sleep. Not because he was tired, but to get the day over with, even if that meant school tomorrow.

" _This makes no damn sense. I really don't get why I like her. She's just a dork. There are plenty of girls prettier than her, funnier, things like that... Yeah, that's right. What am I doing? I'm Watari, just about every girl in the school drools over me. There's no reason to get hung up over just one of 'em!"_

At that thought he elected to pull his phone out and text a few of the many numbers he kept in his contacts. To his dismay, his battery had died.

"Ughhhhhhhh!" He audibly groaned.

" _Yeah, who am I kidding, that wouldn't have worked either. I don't know what it is about her, but it's just like I said, she isn't like every other girl."_

* * *

Kousei and Kaori departed separately from the fast food restaurant the four had decided to stop by for dinner. Generally speaking it would make sense for Kousei to go with Tsubaki, given that they live right next to each other, but since Kousei had brought his bag with him, in which he had an umbrella, he decided to walk his girlfriend home.

The umbrella was a small travel type. It wasn't really meant for more than one person so Kousei and Kaori had to squeeze underneath it. They certainly didn't mind, however.

The Month of April was drawing to a close, but surprisingly rain showers hadn't been that frequent. Because of that, Kousei figured that this one would probably be a fairly hefty one. Right now though, it remained a calm drizzle. The cool humidity contrasted comfortably with the warm Spring air, making the couples walk quite enjoyable.

For most of the trip the two made easy small talk and jokes back and forth, simply appreciating the other's company. About halfway to Kaori's parent's shop, however, Kousei found himself in slightly more serious contemplation.

He began to think back to how radically different the past year of his life had been, how many struggles he'd defeated that haunted him for most of his life, just to be introduced to new ones along the way. Still, he'd confronted them all, and for all of them Kaori had been by his side. For most she had been the reason for trying.

Kousei looked over at Kaori. In their blissful silence, she seemed to be quietly humming a tune. He noticed the gentle smile that touched her lips, that shifted every so often as she continued her melody. Over the sound of the rain, light as it was, he couldn't quite make out what that melody was, but of what did hear it sounded familiar.

After a moment the girl noticed her partners gaze on her and looked up to him inquisitively.

"Something wrong, Friend A?" She asked with a smirk. It was clear she was in a good mood.

Kousei replied with a full smile. "Oh, no, it's nothing really. I was just thinking is all."

"Whatcha' thinking about? How cute I look today?"

He laughed at her proud expression. "Not exactly. Speaking of which, your legs aren't cold are they? The rain's a little cool, after all."

"Hehe, you're such a parent Kousei. It's the perfect temperature outside, relax."

Kousei shook his head and sighed. "I was only checking, jeez. You do look cute though."

Even though she had practically asked for it, Kousei's words prompted a slight blush to touch her face.

"T-Thanks..." She replied shyly.

"Is that all it takes nowadays? I thought you were made of bolder stuff."

Kaori gave a firm 'hmph' and elbowed Kousei with the arm she was holding his hand with. "I'm plenty bold, thank you very much."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm only messing around. You're bolder than I am, honestly." Kousei said, rubbing his side, wishing he had a free hand to rub his now sore side.

He stopped walking, prompting her to do the same, with another inquisitive glare.

"I've always loved that about you." The boy said sincerely.

"Kousei..." Kaori seemed at a loss for words, and somewhat confused. Maybe she didn't necessarily want to agree but knew she'd be lying if she didn't.

Well that's not too true nowadays. I mean, you're like a whole new person, bursting with confidence."

Kousei chuckled. "But when we first met?"

"Grrr, don't make me say it you dummy. Don't I bully you enough?"

Kousei smiled at her question, but ignored it in favor of asking his own. "Do you see where we stopped, Kaori?"

Kaori looked away to take in the surroundings. They were standing on a bridge, and after a moment of deliberation she realized it was the courage bridge. She assumed that this must be the significant factor of their environment Kousei was referring to. But why?

"Well, we're on the courage bridge. But, why here?"

"Do you remember that day some months back when you made me jump off with you because I didn't bring you a present?" He asked.

She reflected for but a brief moment. "How could I forget? It'd been a long time since I'd had so much fun."

Kousei's eyes grew somber in nostalgia as he looked over the railing to the water below. Too little sunlight remained in the distant horizon to affect visibility, but with focus Kousei could still make out drops of rain hit the surface of the water.

"When I did get to go outside and play as a kid," he began, "me and Tsubaki's other friends would always come play on this bridge, like the two kids you were playing with that day. Inevitably, Tsubaki would always want to jump off the side and make everyone else do it too. All of her friends were able to do it, except me."

Kaori's expression shifted to one of slight sadness, but also understanding as she held his hand tighter.

He carried on. "A few times Tsubaki got me to try and go first, but I'd always just stand on the edge like a coward and she'd push me in."

This elicited a small giggle from Kaori, which in turn caused Kousei to smile. Her laughter was too contagious to not.

"Well that's not very nice. But hey, at least you did it!" Kaori said, still vaguely cracked up.

Kousei sighed. "No, that's just it Kaori. It wasn't me doing it. Sure I fell into the water, but I didn't have the courage to jump without that shove. Isn't that what it's all about? Courage?" He stopped for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right... but you tried, honey. With the kind of stuff you've dealt with, who can blame you for being timid?" She replied with this question of her own.

"Apparently I can." He laughed. "For so long it felt like all I could do was try but never achieve. It was a horrible feeling. If I couldn't ever win, why try?" He looked over to her with a hearty smile from ear to ear.

"Then you told me to jump. And I'm not sure why, but I could. And I did. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, so liberating. But in the end it was no different. I still needed a shove. This time though, instead of Tsubaki's hand, it was you. Just your heart was enough to set me ablaze. I felt like I could do anything if it was for you, and I still do."

Kaori's eyes widened, finally seeing what he was getting at.

He looked towards the last traces of dark purple in the distant sky, giving way to a deep black, saturated with moonlight. "Now it's even more than that though. I feel like I could jump of this bridge for myself and no one else, even if you weren't here. I've never felt like that before, and even though I don't fully understand it all just yet, I know it's because of you."

Kaori began to feel tears well up at the corners of her eyes at the sincerity of his words, but resolved to not cry.

"Kousei..." She stammered. "I don't understand. Why tell me all this now?"

Kousei turned both himself and Kaori so that they stood toe to toe, and he touched his forehead to hers.

"Because it's been a little over a year since I met you, and already you're more a part of me than anyone else. I don't know how you've done it, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So that's why we're going to win this competition. With your courage and mine, we can do anything. When we win this, I can at least start to pay back what I owe you, even though I'll never fully be able to."

When just yesterday Kaori had been so tired from practicing and preforming, she suddenly felt a new fire light in her heart. Kousei was right. Together, there was nothing that could stop them.

"I love you, Kaori." Kousei said gingerly.

"I love you too." She replied

Kousei leaned down and their lips met.

And so in that April Shower, the boy decided to never fear again. He aspired to brave for those he cared about, and be the force to drive them on like so many had been for him. He decided that he would start with Kaori. After all, he had a lifetime of freedom to repay her for.

* * *

Chapter 16- End

* * *

 **A/N: Awe, that was adorable. Kousei is such a thoughtful young lad, isn't he? Poor Watari though. I hope he finds some way to cope with his broken heart. :(**

 **I think I might keep the chapter's somewhere around this length from now on. Certainly there'll be some outliers in important chapters that warrant the extra length, but this amount is just easiest to write in a timely manner, albeit it's a tad short. But hey, it'll all just depend on how I'm feeling that day. Maybe you'll get a longer chapter for no particular reason.**

 **By the way, shout out to chiccwithdicc (I know, how crude) for kicking my ass into gear with writing again. They might show up somewhere in the reviews, we'll just have to see.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time. Later ^_^**


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